Cherished
by InvisiblePrincess2002
Summary: A few short months after Clarisse Renaldi finally wed Joseph, the love of her life, the happy, retired couple learns that for whatever divine reason, the good Lord has decided to give them a medical miracle: at their age, as unbelievable as it is, they're actually having a baby! Meanwhile, Mia struggles with several painful, shocking problems of her own that come up along the way.
1. Happy Late Mother's Day?

**Note to readers:** Okay, let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. This story is based on characters from the movies _The Princess Diaries_ and _The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement_ , which are the property of Meg Cabot and Disney. **No infringement is intended.**

For those of you who have read my first story here, _Quiet Strength_ , I just want to make it clear that **this** particular story is **not** the upcoming sequel to Q.S. that I'm currently working on. This is a completely different, stand-alone story that has nothing to do with that. Now, as far as **this** story is concerned, if you've read the summary, you already know that **yes** , I am basically going shamelessly over the top, here. From time to time, I've had moments where I've really hated it that Clarisse and Joseph got married too late in life to have a child together. (And really, **c'mon** , be honest...how many of us here **haven't** had those moments from time to time? LOL) Well, I just recently got to thinking about it, and this story just suddenly came to me out of the blue, and it really is perfect for Mother's Day, so this is my official, albeit over-the-top, C/J Mother's Day fanfic. If anyone decides to review it, please be as kind as possible, LOL. Thank you very much for stopping by, and I hope you all enjoy. :)

 **Chapter 1: Happy Late Mother's Day?**

For Clarisse Renaldi, the Dowager Queen of Genovia, the past four months had been a mixture of both bliss _and_ frustration. Four months ago, after officially turning the Genovian throne over to her only grandchild, her twenty-one-year-old granddaughter Mia, she was finally free to marry the one and only man she'd ever _truly_ wanted to be with, her longtime bodyguard and Royal Head of Security, Joseph Romero. Ever since then, she and Joseph had been settling into both married life and retirement quite smoothly and they were happier than they'd ever really been before. But the past four months had also been difficult and frustrating from time to time because while her young granddaughter was as sweet as she could be, she hadn't had very much experience living the life of a royal _at all_ , and unfortunately, _it showed._

Despite all the problems that had happened along the way and all the mistakes Mia had made and all the royal blunders that had occurred throughout the process of getting ready to ascend the throne, Mia still got off to a good start as Queen, doing things like converting their family's second palace in Libbet into a children's home for orphans and foster children, helping to get the sexist law overturned that required a crown princess to get married before she could ascend the throne, and helping to make sure that women were _finally_ allowed to serve in Parliament along with men. However, she was still inexperienced, naïve, and sometimes immature in the way she handled her daily life as a royal, which often made her the target of both palace _and_ national gossip, much to Clarisse's dismay. Just two short months after ascending the throne, Mia discovered her then boyfriend, Lord Nicholas Devereaux, in the act with another woman, and rather than keeping her emotions in check and handling herself like a proper young queen, she made a big, emotional scene about it, which resulted in _endless_ gossiping and hounding in the media and in the tabloids. (It also resulted in another "We're held to higher standards of behavior" lecture from Clarisse during a particularly painful argument between the two of them.)

However, even though there had been some difficult moments along the way for Clarisse with her granddaughter, overall, she was still very, _very_ happy, and _so_ in love with Joseph. In her new life with him as his wife, she felt more joyful and carefree than she'd _ever_ felt before, and no longer having the weight of an entire nation on her shoulders _certainly_ didn't hurt, either. Now that Mia was finally Queen and that difficult part of her life was behind her at long last, her heart felt free and as light as a feather.

On that chilly autumn morning in November, Clarisse only found herself wishing that _her stomach_ could _also_ be as light as a feather! For over the past two weeks now, Clarisse woke up every morning to a _very_ upset stomach. Sometimes she won the battle with nausea, but more often than not here lately, the Dowager Queen of Genovia was spending her mornings not on any kind of _royal_ throne, but rather, in front of the _porcelain_ throne! During the first week that she started feeling sick at her stomach, Clarisse reassured her very protective husband that it was just an ordinary case of the stomach flu and nothing to be concerned about. But as his wife's symptoms continued to drag on and on with no improvement whatsoever, Joseph began to worry. For the past week, he had been getting on her case to go see Dr. Mackenzie about it, who was the Renaldi family doctor with his own office in the palace. But as usual when it came to doctor's visits (and most everything else in their lives), Clarisse was stubborn and refused to go.

As Clarisse continued to hold onto either side of the porcelain throne and hopelessly vomit that morning, she suddenly felt Joseph behind her, and while she felt _awful_ because of the nausea and vomiting, it really touched her that he would get down in the bathroom floor with her and sit behind her to comfort her, regardless of his knee replacement. All the vomiting was very unpleasant for Clarisse, obviously, but feeling Joseph gently rubbing her back _was_ comforting to her. A few moments later, the urge to vomit _finally_ subsided for a little bit, so she simply tried to relax as much as she could while she leaned back into Joseph's arms and rested her tired head on his chest. As always, Joseph was ready with a cold washcloth he started dabbing all over her face and forehead.

"Thank you, Joseph," Clarisse told him in a tired whisper.

"Clarisse, this can't go on," he lovingly scolded her.

"I know; I know," she sighed.

"Now I talked to Dr. Mackenzie and he is expecting to see us in a couple of hours." In that instant, Clarisse opened her mouth to try to protest, but Joseph interrupted with a stern, " _You're going, Clarisse._ _We_ are going together this morning, and that's all there is to it. Understood?"

"Understood," Clarisse responded with a sigh of defeat. She knew her husband was right, of course, but that _still_ didn't mean she had to be _happy_ about it. Like most everyone, Clarisse _never_ enjoyed a doctor's visit, no matter how necessary it might be.

At nine o'clock that morning, Clarisse sat at the end of the examining table, Joseph standing right by her side in Dr. Mackenzie's office with his hand resting protectively on the small of her back.

Dr. Mackenzie was a middle-aged, heavyset, and very friendly man with glasses, thinning brown hair, and a beard, and he did have a nice, easygoing bedside manner. He gave them both a pleasant smile, then asked, "What's the trouble today, Your Majesty?" (Even though Clarisse had abdicated her position as Queen in favor of Mia, it was still customary to address an abdicated King or Queen of Genovia as "Your Majesty.")

"Oh, it's nothing that serious, doctor. Just a bit of nausea I can't seem to get rid of," Clarisse replied, clearly downplaying the situation.

"She's been vomiting almost every single morning for the past two and a half weeks straight," Joseph answered the doctor more honestly. "At first we thought it might be the stomach flu or some other kind of virus, but it just simply does not get better."

"I see. Any other symptoms? Headaches? Fever? Dizziness? Fatigue?"

"No, not really," Clarisse answered, again _not_ being completely honest.

"She _has_ been unusually fatigued lately, doctor," Joseph _truthfully_ told him.

"And, Your Majesty, is there anything, _anything_ else at all going on that's unusual for you? I want you to tell me, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem. Being in my exam room means you're in _my_ courtroom and _I_ am the judge, and you have to tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, just like your husband has been doing," he teased, which got a small laugh out of Clarisse.

"Well…" Clarisse began, but she really wasn't sure if she should say anything. It seemed _so_ silly to mention.

" _Well…_ " Dr. Mackenzie repeated in a more teasing tone of voice, again making Clarisse laugh a little.

"It would seem that…well…despite all this nausea and vomiting I've been having lately, in the afternoon and evening hours, I'm _famished._ I simply cannot seem to get enough to eat later on in the day. Even though I've been so sick at my stomach in the mornings, I've actually gained a little bit of weight, as a matter of fact, because I've been eating so much in the afternoon and at night. And for some strange reason, it seems that I just cannot get enough bananas. I am _constantly_ craving them."

"I've got it!" he said after he snapped his fingers. "I've just figured out your diagnosis, Your Majesty."

"What is it?" asked Clarisse.

"You're turning into a monkey!" he teased, and Clarisse once again laughed, and then she jokingly rolled her eyes at the doctor. His silly, humorous personality often helped put her at ease over the years.

"Doctor, with all due respect, can we just please get on with this and find out what's wrong with my wife?" Joseph asked pointedly. He didn't want to be rude, but he was beginning to get really worried about Clarisse, and he was _not_ in the mood for jokes.

"I'm sorry, Joseph. Of course. If you'll just lie back, Your Majesty, I'll do a little examination, here. And in just a minute or two, I'll get Nurse Johnson in here to draw a little blood and take it to the lab for some bloodwork, just to be on the safe side."

"Is that _really_ necessary, doctor?" Clarisse questioned. She always hated needles and blood tests.

"Clarisse, don't argue with the doctor. If he says you need it, then you need it."

"Oh, very well," she grudgingly sighed, knowing there was no way she could win.

About an hour later, after the doctor's exam and after Dr. Mackenzie got the results of Clarisse's bloodwork back, she and Joseph sat together in his office across from his desk waiting, with Joseph holding his wife's hand. When Dr. Mackenzie came into his luxurious royal office filled with landscape scenery all over the walls, which was similar to the rest of the palace, he was the perfect professional and his face gave nothing away – something that Joseph knew in his gut was _not_ good. Dr. Mackenzie had always been a real clown at heart who was constantly cheerful and kidding around with his patients, so whenever he actually was _not_ getting ready to joke around and was being professional instead, it was never a good sign.

"Your Majesty, Joseph, I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I can't tell you anything definite. Not yet. I don't mean to alarm you, but we are seeing something unusual in your bloodwork, Your Majesty, and I need to run more tests, including an ultrasound."

"Whatever you need to do, doctor," Joseph said quickly before Clarisse could protest.

"I just made some calls and I'm having an ultrasound machine brought to the palace today so I can perform the procedure. I know you like to avoid having to go to the hospital for tests if you can possibly avoid it due to the press."

"Yes, that's very true," Clarisse agreed.

"It should be here soon. When it arrives, I'll have Marjorie inform you so you can come back for the ultrasound." Clarisse's good friend, Charlotte Kutaway, had been her right arm as her personal assistant back when she was Queen. After Mia ascended the throne in Clarisse's place (and after the law preventing women from serving in Parliament was changed), Charlotte left her old job at the palace for a new career in Parliament, and when she left, Marjorie Willis, a very sweet, shy, small lady in her fifties with brown hair and blue eyes, took over as personal assistant to Queen Mia. Although Marjorie was a spinster and never had any children of her own, she took a real motherly kind of interest in the young queen, and was an excellent assistant to her. The two got on incredibly well right from the very beginning.

"Thank you, doctor," Joseph said quietly, and then after they all got up from their seats and shook hands with each other, Clarisse and Joseph went back upstairs to their suite.

A couple of minutes later, they were joined by Mia, who'd just gotten out of session with Parliament and had heard the news about her grandmother needing an ultrasound. Naturally, she was concerned about her grandma and had to check things out.

"Something unusual in your bloodwork? That's it? That's all he said? He didn't say anything else?" Mia questioned her grandmother.

"No," Clarisse replied, shaking her head. "That's all he said. He did seem rather interested in my abdomen for some reason. When I told him all about the stomach trouble I've been having, he wanted to examine my abdomen, and he did feel around my lower stomach a good bit, but he didn't say anything, so I assumed that meant everything was normal."

"I don't have any more meetings or appointments until later on this afternoon. If it's alright with you, Grandma, I'd really like to be there with you when you have to go back to the doctor."

Clarisse really would have preferred for it to just be herself and Joseph, but she knew her loving, sensitive granddaughter was only asking to come along because she was so concerned. "Alright, my love," she conceded. "If it'll make you feel better, then you can come along too."

"Thanks, Grandma," Mia responded, and just a moment later, the telephone in Clarisse's suite rang and Joseph answered it.

"Yes?" he said. A couple of seconds later, he hung up the phone and told the ladies, "The machine has arrived. It's time to go back downstairs."

A few minutes later, Clarisse was in a hospital gown, lying on the exam table under hospital sheets, and Dr. Mackenzie was performing the ultrasound as discreetly as humanly possible. A short while later, he said to Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia, "Joseph, Your Majesties, I'm going to come right to the point, here. Now I don't mean to scare any of you, but I'm also going to be honest. In all my years of medicine, I have _never_ seen anything quite like this before, unless someone has been lying to me in the medical records about the Queen's age and she's actually younger than the records say. Queen Clarisse, the hCG hormone, which is the hormone for pregnancy, showed up in your bloodwork."

" _What?_ " Clarisse said with surprise.

"Wow, that's strange," said Mia.

"And that's not all. When I was examining your abdomen, I was _certain_ I felt what appeared to be about an eight- to nine-week-old fetus." Joseph's eyes grew as wide as saucers the moment he heard the doctor say that.

"Oh, you're pulling our leg, doctor!" Clarisse insisted. She knew better than anyone what a prankster he could be at times.

"I do like to kid around with my patients, Your Majesty, but even _I_ have my limits. _I never_ pull jokes or pranks when it comes to my patients' diagnoses. I am being perfectly serious. And in case you guys _still_ don't believe me…" he said, and then in that next moment, he turned the ultrasound machine around and let the trio look at the screen for themselves. They may not have been trained medical professionals, but they _all_ knew what a fetus looked like on an ultrasound screen.

"Impossible," Joseph gasped.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Mia whispered.

"There it is, you two lovebirds!" Dr. Mackenzie said cheerfully. "This is a _live_ ultrasound picture of your unborn baby. Mommy, Daddy, congratulations!"

" _Daddy?_ " Joseph whispered.

" _Mommy?!_ " Clarisse gasped in shock.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Mia whispered again.

"If I weren't lying down already, I'd _faint!_ " Clarisse cried out.

"You're not the only one," said Joseph, who _thankfully_ , was sitting down in a chair next to the exam table.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Mia whispered yet again.

"Impossible," Joseph gasped. " _Impossible!_ "

"Oh, _wow_."

"I need to lie down," Clarisse groaned.

"You _are_ lying down," Joseph told her.

"Oh, right. Well then in that case, I need to close my eyes for about the next ten minutes… _or ten years!_ " Clarisse said as she laid her head back on the pillow, put her hand on her forehead, and shut her eyes.

"Oh, _wow_."

"Mia, will you _stop_ saying that?!" Joseph snapped. He didn't mean to be rude to his new granddaughter, of course. In a lot of ways, she really was both the daughter and the granddaughter he never had and he really loved her with all his heart. He'd merely responded that way because, understandably, getting news like that at his age was an _enormous_ shock to his system, and _certainly_ to his wife's!

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "How about I say…Happy Late Mother's Day?" In that moment, Clarisse and Joseph _both_ shot silent daggers at Mia with their faces. "I'll go away now," Mia said even _more_ sheepishly, and then she left.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Clarisse said a couple of moments after Mia was gone.

"Indeed," Joseph agreed.

"Doctor, is there any way you can sedate me for about the next twenty years or so?" Clarisse asked.

"Me too," said Joseph.

"Oh, come on, kids! It's not that bad! Just think how much fun it'll be to have little junior around. Why Joseph, I can already see this little guy's resemblance to you."

"How so?"

"He's bald, just like his old man!" In that moment, if looks could have killed, Dr. Mackenzie would have been dead where he stood with the kind of look Joseph shot at him. "I, uh…I think I'll leave you two alone for a little while; give you a chance to just let this news sink in."

"I think that would be best," Joseph snapped again, and then the doctor quickly removed the ultrasound instrument from Clarisse's lower abdomen and wiped the gel off her stomach with some paper towels, turned off the ultrasound machine, and left.

"Clarisse?" Joseph said after he was gone.

"Huh?"

"Is there enough room for two on that exam table?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Because _I_ need to lie down, too. Move over."

"Right," Clarisse said as she moved over to give Joseph some room, and then he climbed on the table next to her and held her close. After Joseph was lying with her, once again, Clarisse said, "Oh, _wow._ "

"Oh, _wow_ ," Joseph agreed.


	2. Meet Isaac

Thank you all very much for the lovely reviews and the support! :) So sorry, btw. I meant to say that when I posted Ch. 2, but you guys seemed so anxious for me to update and I was posting this in kind of a hurry and it accidentally slipped my mind, but support is always **very** appreciated. Thank you!

 **Chapter 2: Meet Isaac**

After Clarisse and Joseph laid quietly in Dr. Mackenzie's exam room for about an hour or so, letting his shocking news set in for both of them as he suggested, they went into his office and continued discussing everything with him. The shock of it all had finally begun to wear off a little bit, and the couple was now interested in finding out what this pregnancy really meant for Clarisse and the baby in terms of their overall health.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Your Majesty," Dr. Mackenzie told them seriously. "The risks involved in a pregnancy at this stage of life are considerably higher than they would be if you were younger. You're at higher risk for things like gestational diabetes, as well as complications with your heart and blood pressure. You're at higher risk for things like preeclampsia. You're also at a higher risk for going into premature labor, and you're a lot more likely to require a delivery by caesarian.

"There are risks for the baby, too. Birth defects are much more common in pregnancies where the mother is over forty. Now I can put in a call to Dr. Hart, your gynecologist, and have her repeat the bloodwork and the ultrasound just to be sure she agrees with my findings, and there are some tests she can run in order to determine whether or not there are any abnormalities in the fetus. One test, called a CVS, can be done in the first trimester, and then there's the amniocentesis test, but that can't be performed until the second trimester of the pregnancy."

"Doctor, you said you weren't going to sugarcoat anything for us, so don't," Joseph told him in a low, serious voice. "Tell me, if Clarisse and I proceed with the pregnancy– "

" _If_?!" Clarisse interrupted, stunned that Joseph would think of ending the life of their unborn child.

"If we go through with the pregnancy," he continued, "how likely is it that there could be serious complications for my wife's health?"

" _Every_ pregnancy involves an element of risk, Joseph," he explained. "Even in young women. That is something that is entirely unavoidable. To be perfectly honest, while the chances of complications for both mother and baby at this stage of life are a good bit higher, there's really no way I can predict for certain how likely it is that that'll happen. In all my years of practice, I've seen deadly complications occur in a pregnancy where the mother was twenty years-old, strong, and in perfect health, and I've seen women over forty with high blood pressure go on to have successful pregnancies and healthy babies with the proper medical care. Pregnancies, like life, are very difficult to predict.

"However, Queen Clarisse, I will tell you this: speaking as your doctor, you are healthier and in better physical shape than some thirty-year-olds I know, and I'm not just clowning around with you when I say that, either. I'm being serious. I think that as long as you continue to take such good care of your body like you always have, and as long as you listen to everything Dr. Hart tells you and receive the proper medical care throughout this pregnancy, it's reasonable to believe that you and your baby will be okay. Now due to your age, you will definitely have to have more frequent checkups with Dr. Hart and myself, and more ultrasounds will have to be done to make sure the baby is developing normally, but again, as long as you receive the proper medical care and continue to take such good care of yourself, I think this baby has a decent chance. The decision of whether or not to go through the way pregnancy, however, is entirely up to the two of you."

"We understand," Joseph said a little abruptly, and then he got up from his seat, which was a clear signal to Clarisse that he was ready to leave, so she got up as well, followed by Dr. Mackenzie. After they both shook hands with the doctor, Joseph told him, "If you'll excuse us, we obviously have some talking to do."

"Of course. I'll see you later."

"Have a good day, doctor," Clarisse said kindly, and then she walked out of the doctor's office and back upstairs to her suite with Joseph.

Once they were alone in their suite with the doors shut behind them, Joseph said, "I don't like this, Clarisse."

"I know; I know," Clarisse said as she and Joseph sat down together on the couch. "We certainly were _not_ planning on having a baby at _this_ stage in our lives. When we first got married four months ago, we believed we would be able to relax, enjoy our retirement, focus on each other. How could we _ever_ have expected that God would shock us with this miraculous, crazy, medically inexplicable pregnancy?"

"Well I want you to see your gynecologist as soon as possible. I know Dr. Mackenzie has been our doctor for years and we've always liked him and trusted him, but this time, we _have_ to have a second opinion. This is just…this is just _way_ too crazy to be true."

"I'll have Marjorie call her and ask her to come to the palace tomorrow to give me an exam."

"Good."

"Joseph, did you really mean what you said to the doctor about wanting to end the pregnancy?"

"Well it's not that I would _want_ to, Clarisse, but we have to think of your health. There are so many risks. Your heart. Your blood pressure. Gestational diabetes. And there are risks for the baby, too. That is, if there even _is_ a baby. The more I think about it, the more I think that either Dr. Mackenzie made a mistake somehow, or he's playing a huge prank on the two of us."

"Joseph, _you saw_ the ultrasound just as clearly as I did. _That was_ a baby on the screen."

"Yes, but for all we know, he could have been showing us a video of some other lady's sonogram and was just acting like it was yours. This whole thing could just be a part of some enormous, elaborate prank Dr. Mackenzie and maybe even the entire palace staff is trying to pull on us!"

"Oh Joseph, you're being both silly _and_ paranoid. Dr. Mackenzie does like to joke around a lot, yes. He may like to tease me about my cravings for bananas and kid me that I'm turning into a monkey and make silly jokes like that, but he would _never_ actually lie to our faces about a medical diagnosis."

"I'm not so sure, Clarisse. For a guy with a medical degree, he can really be an idiot sometimes. He is _always_ clowning around. He never takes _anything_ seriously. _I bet it's a prank!_ And I bet _Mia's_ in on it!"

"Oh, _be serious._ "

" _I am_ being serious."

" _You're being crazy._ Since _when_ does Mia even have _time_ for pranks now? She's too busy running our country."

"She found plenty of time to get into trouble when she was a princess, didn't she?"

"Yes she did from time to time, but she's really grown up a lot over these past few months since she first ascended the throne. She has had a couple of setbacks along the way, like her disastrous breakup with Nicholas Devereaux. Mia does still have a little more growing up to do, but for the most part, she really has managed to come a long way within a short period of time. She's doing better than I did when I first ascended the throne. Mia's doing a lot of great things for our country, she's working very hard, and I am _very_ proud of her."

"I know she's matured a lot since she first became Queen and that she works hard, and _I_ am _just_ as proud of our little girl as you are. But I _still_ wouldn't put it past her to put everybody else up to a big prank like this!"

Clarisse rolled her eyes at her husband's temporary case of foolish insanity and simply said, "Oh, Joseph!"

It remained like that with Joseph throughout the rest of that day and into the next as arrangements were made for Clarisse to see her gynecologist, Dr. Hart. Joseph decided that rather than have her come to the palace to examine Clarisse and use the same ultrasound machine Dr. Mackenzie had used (that Joseph had convinced himself was rigged somehow and didn't trust), he had Shades make the proper security arrangements so that he and Clarisse could go to Dr. Hart's office in person. The following morning, Clarisse once again sat at the end of another exam table and Joseph stood by her side as they explained the entire situation to her. Dr. Hart was tall, slightly heavyset, gray-haired African lady with big glasses, a very bubbly personality, and a lovely, strong African accent who had moved from South Africa to Genovia with her husband many years ago, and Clarisse had always really liked her. And to say the least, as Clarisse and Joseph told her everything that was going on, she listened with _great_ interest. But even after she looked over Clarisse's medical records from Dr. Mackenzie herself, she was still extremely skeptical and agreed with Joseph.

"I'm going to have a talk with that fat, crazy man!" she loudly declared with her heavy accent. She knew Dr. Mackenzie well and she knew from experience how crazy and silly he could act at times. "Speaking as a fellow queen myself, I don't have time for pranks, _especially_ when it comes to making a medical diagnosis. I know how silly that foolish man can be sometimes, but _I never_ thought he would go so far as to pull a prank like this, wasting your time _and_ mine."

" _Thank you!_ " Joseph said with great relief. _Finally_ , somebody was talking _sense!_

"My dear Queen Clarisse, that rascal has got to be pulling a foolish prank, and rest assured, _I will_ give him a piece of my mind on the telephone once I'm finished with our appointment together here. You're over sixty years-old, my love. You certainly don't _look_ it, but I've seen your medical records, so I _do_ know your exact age. We won't go there, though, of course. _No_ queen _ever_ talks about her exact age, including Yours Truly."

"Right on," Clarisse said with a laugh.

"But there is _no way_ any of this _nonsense_ he's saying can be true. Obviously though, something _is_ going on that's causing you to have these symptoms, and _whatever_ it is, we'll get to the bottom of it. I'll run my own tests now so we can come right down to business and get some answers."

" _At last!_ " Joseph said with a sigh of relief. " _Thank you_ , Dr. Hart."

"That's what I'm here for, Joseph, my good man."

During the rest of that morning, Dr. Hart had her own lab run their own series of blood tests on Clarisse's blood. She had been quite certain she would see something different in Clarisse's bloodwork, but sure enough, _much_ to her surprise, Dr. Hart's lab _also_ found the pregnancy hormone in her blood. When Dr. Hart saw the lab report, she was filled with disbelief, and she made her lab repeat all the blood tests. When Dr. Hart's _second_ set of test results came back – and _still_ showed the same thing – her lower jaw practically hit the floor.

"Queen Clarisse, Joseph, I have some _very_ surprising news for you," she told them after having received the second round of test results. "My Queen, the pregnancy hormone is _definitely_ in your blood. There's no doubt about it. I had my lab do the bloodwork twice, and it showed up both times. So just to make certain of what's _really_ going on once and for all, I'm going to do a 4-D ultrasound. If you really _do_ have a bun in the oven after all these years, Clarisse my love, we'll know it beyond a doubt."

"Very well, doctor," said Clarisse.

A few minutes later, after Clarisse was lying down on the exam table in a hospital gown, with gel all over her lower abdomen for the second time around, Dr. Hart performed the 4-D ultrasound. For the first several moments, the screen was positioned to where only Dr. Hart could see it. After taking a good hard look at that screen for a little while, she finally gave Clarisse and Joseph the _definite_ verdict.

"You will _not_ believe this," she said at long last.

" _No way_ ," said Joseph, sensing what was coming.

"I know you two know what the good Lord told us in the Bible about how He performed a miracle and blessed Sarah with a child well after her childbearing years."

"Yes," they said in unison, almost with a sense of fear.

"Well Sarah, Abraham, meet Isaac," she told them as she turned the screen around. And sure enough, there their unborn child was, this time in _much clearer_ 4-D! Both Clarisse's _and_ Joseph's jaws dropped simultaneously. In the previous 3-D ultrasound, they'd merely seen the outline of the fetus, but with the 4-D, they were now seeing much fuller, _much_ more complete images of the baby's body, head, and face. It was still a little more of an embryo than a fetus at that point, but they could clearly see its tiny arms and legs. It was… _incredible!_

While Clarisse hadn't ever believed that Dr. Mackenzie had been playing a prank on them, in the back of her mind, she had had her doubts as to whether or not his diagnosis of pregnancy was really accurate. But as she _literally_ watched _her child_ come to life on that ultrasound screen in those moments, every ounce of doubt was erased. _She. Was. Pregnant!_ Inexplicably. Shockingly. Impossibly. Miraculously. _Pregnant!_ That was a _real baby_ she was carrying inside her own body – _hers and Joseph's baby!_

"You really are there, aren't you?" Clarisse quietly whispered to her unborn child.

"Good news. So far, the baby appears to be perfectly fine. You'll have to have more frequent checkups and ultrasounds done to check yours and the baby's progress throughout the pregnancy, of course, but as of right now, everything appears to be in tip-top shape."

"That is good news," Clarisse agreed.

Clarisse was still in shock about it all, understandably, but seeing the 4-D ultrasound images of her baby for the very first time had a profound impact on her. Yes, she had a lot of concerns. Like Joseph, she too was afraid of what going through a pregnancy at her age could do to her health in the long run, not to mention the fact that it was far more likely that the baby could have birth defects. And even though she had always taken excellent care of herself and had a very strong, energetic body for someone her age, she was still not particularly looking forward to going through the discomforts of pregnancy. She may have been in wonderful physical shape, but still, she was _not_ in her twenties anymore. But yet as she looked at her baby on that screen – whose tiny little face she could _already_ see looked _so_ much like Joseph's – way deep down in her heart of hearts, underneath all the worries and the fear, she couldn't help but feel _joy._ For Joseph, however, it was very different.

He and Clarisse had never had an affair, and they'd never done anything inappropriate in all the years they worked together in the palace before they got married. While they had each wanted to have a relationship with one another beyond that of friendship, it had been impossible because Clarisse had been wed to King Rupert at age eighteen in an arranged marriage. And because of their mutual faith in Christ, as well as the fact that they were honorable people to their cores, an affair had never been an option for either of them. King Rupert had never been mean or unfaithful to Clarisse, and in fact, they did become good friends with each other through the years and came to really care about one another, but it had always been a business arrangement between them and not a marriage. Their first concern had always been Genovia, never each other. Joseph had always been the man Clarisse was really in love with and vice versa, but because of her marriage to Rupert, the only thing they could do was bury their feelings as deeply as they could and never acknowledge them. And after _so_ many years of waiting and hoping to finally be with the woman he loved, at _very_ long last, they were now together as husband and wife, which was _precisely_ why this pregnancy scared Joseph to death. After waiting for Clarisse for _so long_ , the thought of something going wrong with her health because of this crazy, freak pregnancy really terrified him. Had they been able to get married when they were younger and had this happened, seeing their unborn baby on that ultrasound screen would have been the happiest moment of his life. Now though, it was one of the scariest. Before, he'd been able to tell himself that it was impossible for Clarisse to really be pregnant, despite the first 3-D ultrasound he saw, but after hearing Dr. Hart concur with everything Dr. Mackenzie had told them yesterday, and after seeing a much more vivid picture of their baby with the 4-D ultrasound, there were no longer any doubts in even _Joseph's_ mind. This wasn't a silly, stupid prank. This wasn't any kind of a mistake. _This was real._

"Dr. Mackenzie mentioned a kind of test that could be done in the first trimester to check for birth defects. A CVS, I think he called it," said Clarisse.

"Yes, we can do that. Or we can simply wait until the second trimester and perform an amniocentesis," Dr. Hart responded while Joseph remained silent, lost in his own thoughts and fears.

"Which would you recommend doing?"

"There's very little risk with either procedure, but personally, I always prefer to wait and do the amnio. It's a little safer for the baby than the CVS."

"Very well. How long would we have to wait?"

"About another seven weeks or so, I'd say. The amniocentesis is performed at sixteen weeks, and from the looks of things, I'd say little Isaac, here, is about nine weeks old."

"I don't care if he has birth defects or not. We'll love him just the same, of course, but if there _is_ something wrong, I do want to know so I can be prepared and know what to do for him."

"Right," Dr. Hart agreed with Clarisse. "It's always best to be prepared, especially when it comes to motherhood."

"Motherhood!" Clarisse said aloud with a big laugh. "Joseph, who in their right mind _would ever_ have guessed that _I_ would be preparing for motherhood again?! I'm already a grandmother!"

Dr. Hart laughed with Clarisse and said, "The Lord moves in mysterious ways, my Queen."

"I'll say!" Clarisse said with another laugh.

After Clarisse chatted with Dr. Hart for the next several minutes and they discussed everything she needed to be doing from a medical perspective, such as getting plenty of rest and getting enough to eat and taking prenatal vitamins, she and Joseph returned home to the palace. It was about one-thirty that afternoon when they walked through the doors of their suite, and it was also the same time that Mia's scheduled lunch date with a couple of diplomats from Spain ended, so practically the moment after they were back in their suite, Mia came running in like an excited little child on Christmas morning.

" _So?_ " she asked, her face just beaming with excitement. "Does Dr. Hart agree with what Dr. Mackenzie said yesterday? Are you guys actually pregnant?"

Clarisse laughed at the young girl's enthusiasm and told her, "Amazingly enough, it would seem so."

"Oh, _wow!_ That is _so cool!_ I mean, yeah, it's totally crazy that God would do something like this, but it's also _so cool!_ Congratulations, guys!" she happily cried out, and then she gave Clarisse and Joseph very big hugs.

"Thank you, darling," Clarisse said with a smile. Joseph still remained silent.

"So how are you feeling? Are you okay? Do you need anything for your stomach? Or are you craving bananas now? Wait a minute. Don't move. I'll go downstairs and get both. I'll be right back!" Mia announced as she hurried out of their suite. Obviously, Mia had made all those statements in such a big rush that Clarisse couldn't get in a word edgewise. She might have been twenty-one, a college graduate, and the ruler of their country now, but in Clarisse's eyes, Mia would always be the most adorable, loveable little girl on earth. She had brought so much liveliness and joy back into her life after the loss of Philippe, and even though Clarisse often held much of her feelings back because of all her years as Queen, she did love Mia _so_ much.

"Clarisse, we have to talk about this," Joseph said seriously.

"Well of course we do. We clearly have a lot of plans we have to make. I mean, I know we have plenty of time, but I really think it would be better to start preparing for the baby sooner rather than later."

"Clarisse, I'm scared. I'm worried about what it could mean for your health if we go through with this. I don't think this pregnancy is a good idea. Now don't get me wrong. I've always, _always_ believed that _all_ human life is sacred at _all_ stages, but…I just couldn't bear it if something went wrong…if anything happened to you…"

"Oh, Joseph," Clarisse said warmly, and then she put her arms around him. "I know how much you love me," she told him while still in his embrace, looking up into his eyes. "And I love you too. And I know you're worried about my health. Frankly, I'm scared about that as well. But I've already lost one child, Joseph. And now, for some unimaginable reason, the good Lord has chosen to defy medical science and give us a child at our age. Out of all the _millions_ of couples out there He could have chosen to give this miracle to, He chose _us._ I cannot – I _will not_ – say no to this child, to this _extraordinary_ gift. After all these years, I'm actually getting the chance to become a mother again." There was such a light, such a _joy_ in Clarisse's eyes the moment she said that to Joseph, and the moment he saw it, he knew he couldn't ask her to have an abortion. He was very worried about her health, but he knew how wrong it would be to try to take this joy away from her now, especially after losing Philippe.

Joseph continued holding Clarisse's gaze with his eyes in those moments, and then he kissed her, smiled, and said softly, "Okay. We're having a baby, then."

Clarisse looked up at Joseph and said, "We're having a baby." And then they kissed again.

As if on cue, the very moment the kiss ended, Mia came running back into their suite. "Okay Grandma, I brought you some bananas from the kitchen, and all I could find for an upset stomach at the moment is this bottle of Dramamine." As Mia set the bananas and the Dramamine down on the coffee table, Clarisse laughed.

"Mia, _I'm fine_ ," she insisted. "Don't worry about me. Besides, you've got a country to run. Go do some paperwork, silly girl. I know from experience that you've got plenty of it to do."

"Alright, but I'll leave the bananas and the Dramamine here just in case you get nauseous or get a craving or something."

"Alright, love," said Clarisse, and then Mia walked out of their suite.

But barely two seconds after the doors had closed behind her, she came charging back in again, yelling, "Wait a minute, Grandma! Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Don't touch the Dramamine!"

"Why?"

"I have to do some research on the Internet and make sure it's safe for a pregnant woman to take." Mia then took the bottle of Dramamine with her and left once again, while Clarisse and Joseph laughed and shook their heads.

"I hope this baby grows up to be as crazy as she is!" Clarisse declared.

"I hope it grows up to be even crazier!" Joseph teased, and again, they had a good laugh and kiss.


	3. A Very Strict Dictatorship

Thanks so much for all the favs, follows, and kind reviews everyone! I appreciate it very much. Hope you enjoy Chapter 3. :)

 **Chapter 3: A Very Strict Dictatorship**

The only thing Clarisse could figure was that even though it was still so early in her pregnancy, the pregnancy hormones were already beginning to get to her and affect her judgment. She was now lying in bed on top of the covers in her favorite, most comfortable long white blouse and gray slacks, reading a crazy Harlequin romance novel that many women on the palace staff had been passing around just for the fun of it, while eating an _enormous_ bowl of banana pudding, filled to the brim with pieces of banana and vanilla wafers and lots of whipped cream. Ordinarily, Clarisse would _never_ do such a thing. It was not proper for a queen, or even an abdicated queen, to lie around reading a Harlequin romance novel while eating in bed, but now, all of the sudden, she found herself thinking that since she was both older _and_ pregnant, she could do whatever the heck she wanted!

"So have Monica and Stan gotten married yet?" asked Joseph with a smile as he came walking in. The sight of Clarisse lying in bed with her book and her banana pudding that evening was really adorable to Joseph. She'd been so restricted so much of the time in everything she ever did throughout her life as Queen. It really made him happy to see her allowing herself to relax more now.

After Joseph sat down on the bed beside Clarisse, she shook her head and answered, "Nope. She left him at the altar."

"What? As much as they went through to finally be together and she just leaves him like that?"

"She had to. Right at the moment of the ceremony when the minister asked if there was any reason for them not to be married, Dr. Thompson stood up and announced that she was pregnant with his baby."

"Oh, my," Joseph said with a laugh, shaking his head.

"Now she and Dr. Thompson are engaged, but she's still pining for Stan."

"Poor Stan."

"I know. It took him so many years to win his battle with alcoholism, and now that Monica's left him, he's hitting the bottle again." Joseph rolled his eyes, and then Clarisse put the book down for a second. "You know, perhaps it's these insane pregnancy hormones that are making me all maternal or something, but I keep finding myself wanting to reach through the pages and give poor Stan a hug, which is crazy, because I would _never_ give a hug to a stranger."

Joseph laughed. "Well, it's actually not all that strange. Stan's a pretty lovable character. Even though he was born rich, he gave away most of his money to charity, after all."

"True," Clarisse agreed, and then she handed him the extra spoon that had been laying on the nightstand that she had brought for him. "Here. Help yourself to some pudding. There's plenty for all three of us." Then she took another big spoonful of pudding from the bowl herself.

"No thank you, my dear. I'm fine. Besides, I think you and Isaac need that pudding more than I do right now." Even though they didn't know the baby's gender yet, Clarisse, Joseph, Mia, and everyone else had been calling the baby by the nickname Dr. Hart had given it, Isaac.

"I don't know _what_ this pregnancy is doing to my mind. In my right mind, I would never dream of eating in bed." Clarisse then took another big spoonful of pudding and said, "Now I'm eating in bed and talking with my mouth full!" The moment Clarisse did that, she became more adorable to Joseph than ever, and again, he laughed.

"Clarisse, you are both retired and pregnant," he said while lovingly pushing a few strands of hair back behind his wife's ear. "You can do _whatever you want._ If you want to eat in bed and talk with your mouth full, you have every right to do so."

After Clarisse took another big spoonful and ate it, she said, "I really must say, Isaac and I are in _heaven_ with this banana pudding the chef made for us. This little baby is going to make _sure_ I give him his daily allotment of potassium."

"Maybe Dr. Mackenzie's joke last week about you turning into a monkey actually has an element of truth to it. Maybe it's _Isaac_ who's going to be a little monkey when he comes into the world."

"Well why wouldn't he be?" Clarisse chuckled. "Pierre and Philippe certainly were when they were little!"

"You can say that again! It was all I could do to keep up with those two little rascals when they were younger. _How_ am I supposed to keep up with Isaac now, especially with my knee replacement?"

"Don't worry, Joseph. We'll get Mia to help us keep up with him."

"What if it's a _her_ and not a him? Then what'll we name it? We can't call a little girl Isaac."

"If it's a girl, why don't we call her Elizabeth after your mother?"

Joseph smiled and said, "Thank you, Clarisse. I love that."

"Of course."

For the next few moments, Joseph simply sat with Clarisse in silence, smiling at her as she continued engulfing her pudding. Then Clarisse put down her spoon again and said, "I know it's a long way off, but I was just thinking. Do you want to be there, Joseph?"

"Do I want to be where?"

"With me in the delivery room when the baby's born."

"I was there when Pierre was born, wasn't I?"

"Yes, and we were _both_ a couple of wrecks! That is _not_ an experience I would care to repeat."

"Don't worry, my love. Times have changed. This will be _nothing_ like what happened when Pierre was born. And I will be there for you every step of the way. I will _never_ let anyone treat you the way you were treated during your first birth."

"I know that. You were really my knight in shining armor that day."

"Some knight. You were scared out of your mind, screaming your head off in agony, and there was not a thing I could do about it. I never felt so helpless."

"But you _did_ do something about it. When I was taken back to the delivery room and given those drugs to knock me out during my labor, I actually started hallucinating because of those drugs and they did not put me in a fog or make labor any easier like they were supposed to. When I started to hallucinate, they just tied me down to the bed and left me there. _You_ were the one who broke protocol, left Rupert and the rest of the security team in the waiting room, and sneaked back into the area of the hospital where you weren't supposed to be, just to check on me and see how I was doing. And when you came down the corridor of the maternity ward and you heard me screaming, you pushed and shoved your way through our other guards and the hospital staff and came bursting into my room, and you untied me from that bed and held me through the rest of my contractions. Everybody else tried to get you to leave, but you made such a big ruckus about it that they even had to get Rupert back there, and when he came into the room, you told him about everything they had done to me, and you said to him, 'Is _this_ the way Genovia should treat its Queen?' I never will forget that."

"I respect the fact that King Rupert was your first husband and the father of your children, but when he just told me that day to stay with you and had everybody else leave the room with him, I couldn't get over what a coward he was being. He was supposed to be the king of our country, and yet, he just left you."

"Well he did have a different doctor and different nurses brought in that day to oversee the rest of my labor and delivery with Pierre. And anyway, Joseph, it was a different time back then. It was considered highly improper for a husband to be with his wife in the delivery room while she was giving birth, and even more so for a king. And Rupert was always pretty squeamish. Had he been the one to stay with me, he probably would have just passed out and been no help to me whatsoever."

"I'll never forget what they did to you when you were in labor with Pierre. It was barbaric."

"At least Philippe's birth was a _little_ easier. As you know, I went completely natural with him, and as hard and painful as it was, to this day, I'm glad I did."

"Yes, back then, your only options were to risk taking those terrible drugs that could have given you more hallucinations like with what happened with Pierre's birth or to have a natural birth, and I think you chose very wisely."

"Rupert may have been too squeamish to be with me, but at least he found me a _somewhat_ better group of doctors and nurses and made it clear to them that my wishes for a natural birth were to be respected."

"You know, you've never really talked very much about what happened with Philippe's birth. How was it in comparison to your first?"

"Overall, it was considerably better. But I _still_ would have liked to have been surrounded by doctors and nurses who were more supportive and respectful of my choices. They may have respected my choice for a natural birth because Rupert forced them to, but they all acted as though I were insane for not getting the drugs. I mean, they never _said_ anything to my face, but I could sense it from all of them that that was how they felt, and I did overhear a snide remark or two when they didn't think I was listening."

"I'm so sorry, my dear. That's so terrible, but thankfully, Genovia isn't in the Dark Ages anymore about the way women are treated during childbirth. This time, you'll have your own luxurious maternity suite in the hospital and doctors, nurses, a husband, a granddaughter, and anybody else you want there with you to cater to your every whim and treat you the way you _should_ have been treated when you were having Pierre and Philippe." After Joseph said that, Clarisse laughed a bit and smiled, and then he kissed her hand. "And _this time_ , you have other options besides those awful drugs of the 1960s. Now, we can get you a nice, safe epidural and keep you as comfortable as possible."

" _Oh, no! No, sir!_ " Clarisse _strongly_ protested with a shake of her head.

"What? No epidural?"

" _No!_ No epidural. _No drugs_ _whatsoever._ "

"Clarisse, an epidural is entirely different from the kind of drugs they gave you when you had Pierre."

"I don't care. Drugs are drugs and I do _not_ want _any_ kind of drugs in my system _at all_ when I'm having this baby. It might have been a long time since I gave birth to Pierre, but I still remember that _awful_ experience and those _terrifying_ hallucinations like it was yesterday."

"Well I say that this pregnancy and delivery should be a fair democracy in which _both_ parents get a vote, and _I_ vote for the epidural. I don't want you suffering."

After eating another big spoonful of pudding, Clarisse teased, "And how do you know it's really _you_ who's the father? For all you know, I could have been like this Monica character, fooling around with somebody else. How do you know it's not the prime minister's baby?"

" _The prime minister's_ baby? Pregnancy really _has_ made you crazy!" Joseph teased back, and Clarisse laughed. Joseph then grabbed one of the 4-D ultrasound pictures of the baby they had sitting on the nightstand, and he said, "Take one look at that face and tell me that's not my child." When he said that, Clarisse threw her head back and laughed out loud with Joseph.

A moment later when they were finished laughing, Clarisse said, "I am so sorry, my dear Joseph, but as long as _I_ am carrying and giving birth to this baby, this pregnancy and delivery is _no_ democracy. _It's a very strict dictatorship_ , and _my_ vote is the only one that counts, and _I_ vote for going natural if it's at all possible. Case closed. End of discussion."

"Well it's hardly a decision that has to be made right now. There's still plenty of time to decide. Just think about it, Clarisse. Just consider it. That's all I'm asking."

Clarisse smiled at his concern for her and told him, "Oh, alright. I will."

"Thank you."

"Now, speaking as your dictator, I hereby order you to help Isaac and me finish all this pudding. Banana pudding is a family dessert and we should eat it together as a family."

Joseph laughed and responded, "Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say," and then he picked up the remaining spoon and dug in.

When Dr. Hart came to the palace to perform another checkup on Clarisse and the baby a few weeks later, she expressed similar dismay at the horrific way women, not just in Genovia but all over the world, were treated at one time during childbirth.

"And the sad fact is, even in _this_ day in age, the attitudes that doctors and hospitals have towards women in labor is _still_ sometimes terribly disrespectful," she lamented to the couple in Dr. Mackenzie's exam room that day. "Maybe they're not giving laboring women unsafe drugs and tying them down to beds anymore, but still, laboring women are not always free to do what they feel they need to do to get through labor. Women are always told to be good little girls; to not make scenes; to not make noise. If a woman needs to cry or scream her way through a contraction in order to deal with the pain, in a lot of hospitals around the world today, she's discouraged from doing that because it makes the other people around her feel uncomfortable. If a woman's body is telling her that the best position for her to give birth in is on all fours on the floor, she can't do that because doctors make her lie in bed with her feet in stirrups – not because it's the best position for the _woman_ , but because it's most convenient for the _doctor_. And I say this as both a doctor _and_ a woman who has given birth herself: it is not about the doctor or any of the other people in the room. It's about the _mother_. It's about helping _her_ do what she instinctively knows is best for _her._ Birth is really all about _instinct_. So many medical professionals in today's world take the attitude that a woman cannot trust her own body; that a woman's body does not know what it's doing. Before I married my husband and moved to Genovia with him and went through medical school, I worked as a midwife in South Africa for many years. It gave me invaluable insight into the birthing process that a lot of other doctors just do not understand. I know from experience that birthing goes so much more smoothly if the people around the mother will just simply support her and let her follow her own instincts. A woman's body knows _exactly_ what it's doing."

" _Hallelujah!_ " Clarisse cried out. " _Finally,_ someone who understands. Ordinarily, I keep my feelings pretty well-hidden, but when I was giving birth to Philippe, _I really_ needed the people around me to just be understanding and supportive and let me scream my way through my contractions. I had to hold back, though, because I knew how judgmental all the doctors and nurses around me would be, and that really made it a lot harder."

Dr. Hart shook her head and said, "I'm so sorry it was like that for you, love. That wasn't right."

"No, it wasn't," Joseph said sternly as anger rose up within him at the thought of what Clarisse had had to go through back then.

"And how supportive were they when it came to the positions you wanted to labor in?" Dr. Hart asked.

"They weren't much help there, either. I wanted to get up and move around during my contractions, but again, because they all thought I was _so_ crazy in the first place for not getting the drugs, I knew that the more of a fuss I made during a contraction, the more judgmental they would be, so I basically had to stay in bed during my labor with Philippe and make as little noise as possible."

Dr. Hart shook her head once again and told Clarisse, "Intimidating a woman like that, stopping her from doing the things she instinctively knows she needs to do to get through labor, is not only unprofessional and wrong; it makes the process so much harder. Even if that team of doctors and nurses didn't agree with your choice for a natural birth, it still shouldn't have made a difference in the way they treated you. As medical professionals, they _owed_ it to you to do everything they could to support you. And again, I know from experience that if the people around the mother will just simply let her do what her instincts and her body are telling her to do, labor will often go quicker and more smoothly."

"It's so awful what you went through back then, Grandma," Mia said quietly. She had accompanied Clarisse and Joseph to the appointment with Dr. Hart because she, too, was anxious to see how Clarisse and the baby were progressing, and when Clarisse, Joseph, and Dr. Hart got to talking about Clarisse's past birthing experiences with Pierre and Philippe, Mia had listened in utter horror. "But _this time_ , we're doing it right. _Nobody_ is going to be judgmental or stop you from doing what you need to do in your labor now."

" _Exactly_ ," Dr. Hart agreed. "This time, my Queen, we're doing it right, just like your little girl said. This time, it's not going to be about me or any other doctors and nurses. This time, it's not going to be about anyone _except you_. _Nobody_ is going to get in your way this time or do anything to stop you from doing what your body is telling you it needs to do."

"Anyone who tries to do so will answer _directly to me_ ," Joseph said pointedly.

"Right on, Joe!" said Mia.

"But thankfully, Clarisse does have safer options now, like an epidural."

"Oh Joseph, not the epidural argument again," said Clarisse.

"What argument? Don't tell me you two lovebirds are having trouble in paradise," said Dr. Hart.

"They're in this big debate over whether or not Grandma should have an epidural. Joe says yes; Grandma says no."

"After what happened to me with Pierre, I don't want any drugs."

"And I understand that _completely_ ," Dr. Hart assured her.

" _Finally! An ally!_ These two have been driving me crazy here lately, trying to get me to change my mind."

"We're just concerned about you, Grandma. We respect your choice, but birth is hard enough for a woman _my_ age. We just don't want you to make this tougher on your body than it will be already."

"She does have a point, Clarisse, my dear," Dr. Hart agreed. "This pregnancy and delivery _are_ going to put your body under a very real strain. There's no doubt about it. And there is also a chance that a C-section will be necessary. An older uterus doesn't always contract the way it should. But if you are able to deliver vaginally, and if your heart is able to cope with the demands of labor well, _I will not_ try to stop you or stand in your way if you want to have a natural birth. I will do _everything_ I can to help you. If I think it's medically necessary to intervene with things like an epidural, then I _will_ intervene, but I will _also_ try very hard to avoid any medical interventions that you do not want."

"Well of course I want you to intervene if it's medically necessary for the baby or me, doctor. I'm no fool. I just want to avoid an epidural and any drugs if it's at all possible for me to do so."

"Now Clarisse, be fair. This pregnancy may be a very strict dictatorship under your regime," Joseph said, making Mia and Dr. Hart laugh, " _but you said_ you would consider the epidural."

" _I am_ considering it. I'm considering how much I don't want it," Clarisse said stubbornly, and Mia and Dr. Hart laughed again and Joseph playfully rolled his eyes at his wife.

"Well there's plenty of time to come to a decision about it," said Dr. Hart. "Little Isaac or little Elizabeth won't be here for quite a while yet so you can think long and hard about it before you make up your mind. In the meantime, both you and the baby are doing very well. Isaac – or Elizabeth – is developing normally and everything looks good so far."

"That's wonderful news, doctor. Thank you," said Clarisse.

"Yes, thank you, doctor," Joseph told her as she shook her hand.

"My pleasure. I'll see you all again soon," she said, and then after a few more polite words, Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia said goodbye to Dr. Hart and left the exam room. Clarisse then decided she wanted to have some tea in the kitchen and Joseph joined her, and Mia went to her office to get back to her usual mountain of paperwork.

Shortly after Mia sat down at her desk and got started, Marjorie came in. She was a very dear, sweet, shy and gentle lady, and while she did want to know how the appointment had gone, she would never just interrupt the young Queen while she was in the middle of her work to ask. She _was_ anxious to know, though, so in her own typical quiet, adorable way, she simply kept standing there in silence.

A few moments later, Mia sensed that there was someone there, so she looked up and saw Marjorie. "Oh, hello, Marjorie. Did you need something?" she asked pleasantly.

"I just wanted to know how your grandmother's appointment went, Your Majesty."

"It went very well; thanks for asking. I really like Dr. Hart. She seems like a really terrific doctor. And Grandma and the baby are doing well."

"I'm very happy to hear that." After Marjorie said that to Mia, she simply continued to stand there in silence because there was another question weighing on the assistant's mind that she couldn't bring herself to just come right out and ask the Queen about.

A few moments later, Mia looked up from her paperwork again and asked, "Was there something else you needed?"

"Oh no, no. Nothing, Your Majesty," she answered very quietly, and Mia smiled. She really was touched by the older woman's kind shyness.

"You don't have to be afraid to ask me about something if you want to, Marjorie. I won't bite," Mia kindly teased. "What is it?"

"I was just wondering if you might have asked Dr. Hart about your problem."

"I didn't even think about it, actually. All I could think about was Grandma and the baby."

"Your Majesty, it may not be my place to say this, but you really mustn't put off talking to the doctor. It's important that you find out what's going on, not just for your sake, but for the sake of those who are worried about you." It had been terribly difficult for someone as withdrawn as Marjorie could be to be so bold as to come right out and say that in that moment, but she had been so concerned about Mia that she forced herself to say what was on her mind, no matter how hard it was.

Mia may have only known Marjorie for a few months, but she was such a pure, gentle soul who was impossible not to love, and she was very much like an aunt to the young Queen. And her concern touched Mia deeply, and again, she smiled.

"I'm sorry I forgot about it, Marjorie. The next time Dr. Hart is here to do a checkup on Grandma, _I will_ ask her about my problem. I promise." Marjorie smiled and nodded, and then quietly went about her work.

And as Mia then returned to her own work, she got to thinking about what Marjorie said and she knew her assistant was right. For about the past year, Mia had been experiencing bleeding that simply never stopped. She did see a couple of doctors about it back when she was in college, but they'd never been able to tell her anything conclusive. And she'd never told anyone about her problem except Marjorie, and that was only out of strict necessity. Obviously, as Queen, she couldn't just go out and buy the things she needed for herself on her own anymore, and she could hardly tell a member of the palace staff that she needed a constant supply of tampons because if she did, her personal business would soon be all over the palace grapevine. She'd needed to turn to someone she knew she could trust, and thankfully, Marjorie had been that person. She'd always bought Mia all the tampons she'd needed and had been respectful enough of the young Queen to keep the matter to herself. Mia was always grateful for her assistant's kindness and discretion, as well as her concern. She knew she needed to listen to Marjorie and begin to really deal with this problem. However, when it came to doctor's visits, Mia was every bit as stubborn as her grandmother. She knew she could probably catch Dr. Hart on her way out and talk to her about her women's issues in private, but instead, she chose to keep doing her paperwork and save everything else for another time.


	4. Joseph's Prayer

**Chapter 4: Joseph's Prayer**

Clarisse's appointment with Dr. Hart for the amniocentesis was scheduled just a few days before Christmas, and it was a couple of days after Christmas Day that she and Joseph got the results. Dr. Hart relayed the results to Dr. Mackenzie, and Clarisse and Joseph sat together in his office that day and anxiously waited for him to walk in and tell them what the results said.

"Good news, kids," he told them with a big smile. "Your baby is perfectly healthy." Clarisse and Joseph let out a sigh of relief then, and Joseph kissed her hand. "Would you like to know the gender?"

Clarisse and Joseph may have joked around a good bit about the pregnancy being a strict dictatorship that Clarisse ran, but in reality, Joseph was perfectly happy to stand back and let his wife take the lead on all the decisions involving the pregnancy – except the decision about her getting an epidural, of course. He was perfectly content to wait and find out in June, when the baby was due, but if Clarisse wanted to know now, he certainly wouldn't object. He looked to her in that moment and said, "Clarisse?"

"Yes," she answered. "I think I _do_ want to know now. _I hated_ having to wait so long to find out the gender when I was expecting Pierre and Philippe, although I had a gut feeling the entire time in both pregnancies that I was carrying boys."

"Well you know, Joseph, if you'd rather wait to be surprised, we can do it this way: I can write the baby's gender on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope and hand it to Queen Clarisse, and she can open it and read it by herself. That way, each parent gets what they want. You can be surprised, Joseph, and Your Majesty, you can find out now."

"Thanks, doctor, but that's alright. If Clarisse wants to find out now, I'm okay with that."

"You're okay with finding out the gender now as well?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then. Just out of curiosity, Your Majesty, what does your gut tell you you're having now?"

"Ever since I first found out I was pregnant, I've had this little feeling in the back of my mind that for whatever reason, God is giving me another boy."

"You're right on the money, Your Majesty. Congratulations, kids. The two of you are expecting a healthy son."

" _A son_ ," Clarisse said in a joyful whisper, and then she let out a little laugh. "I'm having another son." Then she looked at Joseph and said, "We're having a son."

Joseph smiled and said, "A son." Clarisse typically did not feel comfortable expressing affection in front of others, but this time, she was filled with so much joy that she couldn't help but give Joseph an enormous hug, which he _very_ happily returned, and then he kissed her cheek. "Clarisse, you're getting another son."

"I know," she said with laughter. "I can't believe it."

The doctor laughed happily as well and again told them, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, doctor," said Joseph.

"Yes, Dr. Mackenzie, thank you," Clarisse said.

"You're very welcome. If you don't mind my asking, just out of curiosity, are you going to stick with Dr. Hart's name for the little tyke, Isaac?"

Joseph looked at Clarisse and asked her, "What do you think, my dear?"

"Frankly, I can't think of a more appropriate name," Clarisse answered with a laugh. "And anyway, the name Isaac means 'he who laughs,' and I really love that. The original Isaac got that name because of the way Abraham and Sarah laughed when God told them that at their age, they would have a child. And if this child is anything like his father, there will definitely be plenty of laughter in our lives."

"Why Joseph, you always struck me as being really tough and serious. Don't tell me that somewhere underneath that tough exterior of yours, you actually like a little mischief," Dr. Mackenzie kidded him.

"Well of course he does. How else would we have gotten into this whole situation in the first place if he didn't?" Clarisse joked, and Joseph smiled.

"Well I'm very happy for you both," said Dr. Mackenzie, and then they all stood up together and shook hands. "I'll see you lovebirds again soon."

"Thank you for everything, doctor," Joseph told him.

"My pleasure," Dr. Mackenzie said, and then Clarisse and Joseph left.

After they walked out of the doctor's office, Clarisse told Joseph, "I think I'm going to go upstairs and lie down. Isaac is letting me know he wants a nap."

"That's a good idea, my love. Go rest. I'll be along shortly."

"Alright, dear. See you in a little while, Dad." _Dad!_ Joseph thought to himself the moment Clarisse said that, and then it all really, _really_ began sinking in for him in a way it hadn't before now. He really was going to be a dad! After all these years! He had a son on the way. A son! His and Clarisse's very own _son!_ He really was having a baby with Clarisse. _A baby! With Clarisse!_ For whatever reason, the good Lord had chosen _them_ to do something He hadn't done since Biblical times. While he was still deeply concerned about the possible risks to Clarisse's health, all the sudden, now as he looked at Clarisse's somewhat rounder abdomen, he was filled with a joy and excitement he'd never experienced before. Ordinarily, Joseph was always a very patient person, but now, he was suddenly _impatient_ to hold their son in his arms and look into his face in the outside world and not just on an ultrasound screen.

Joseph wanted to grab his wife, take her in his arms, and kiss her like mad right then and there before she went upstairs, but he couldn't of course because even though Clarisse wasn't the Queen anymore, she still was uncomfortable with any big displays of affection outside their suite. Therefore, he dialed it down to simply taking her hand and kissing it, which he knew Clarisse would be more comfortable with. "I'll be along shortly, Mama," he said with the biggest smile. Clarisse then squeezed his hand, returned the smile, and went upstairs to their suite.

Meanwhile, Joseph knew he had a stop to make. He went to the palace chapel – the oldest part of the palace which housed a secret tunnel to Parliament, allowing royals to spy on Parliament sessions if they wanted to without the Parliament members' knowledge. Joseph wasn't there to go through the secret tunnel and spy on Parliament, though. He was there for a very different reason.

"Lord, obviously, we have to have a little chat, here," he began. "I know that you have given Clarisse and me an extraordinary gift that so many other people all over the world can only dream about, and I know I haven't exactly shown much gratitude. You have done so many amazing things throughout human history. You gave Abraham and Sarah their son Isaac in their old age. You parted the Red Sea. You sacrificed Your only begotten Son to save humanity from hell and give the human race eternal life. And now, out of all the millions of older couples in the world You could have chosen for this, You've graciously chosen to give Clarisse and me our own Isaac. And for the record, I am both humbled and _very_ grateful, even though I never expressed it before now. I'm just…Lord, I'm scared. I'm worried about Clarisse's health; I'm not a young man anymore, and besides, I don't really know anything about being a parent. I'm just afraid that I'll let You and Clarisse and our baby down. I'm scared that because of my age, I won't have what it takes to be the kind of father my child is going to need."

"Age doesn't matter. You've already been a _great_ father for _years_ ," a voice behind Joseph surprised him. He turned around and saw that it was Mia. She'd come into the chapel herself for a quiet moment of prayer and reflection after a difficult session with Parliament. "My father may have loved and cared about me, Joe," she continued, "and I understand why he had to be separated from me all my life, but it still doesn't change the fact that he was never there. I know now that he and Mom were just trying to protect me from the press, but it was still very damaging for me inside to grow up without my father in my life. It left a pretty big hole in my heart. And when you came along, even though you didn't even know me that well in the beginning, you chose to care about me. At first I thought it was just because of Grandma, but I soon realized that you took the interest in my life that you did, not because of my royal position or because of your relationship with Grandma, but because I as an individual really mattered to you. And even after I became the Princess of Genovia and went back to my life in San Francisco with Mom, you kept in touch with me. You called me frequently. You e-mailed me. You kept up with what was going on in my daily life and you were _always_ there for me when I had a problem. You lifted me up when I felt down. You made me feel important and special. And I always knew that no matter what, you would never stop trying to protect me and look out for me. _That's_ what a father does. Dad is my father, of course, but in another special kind of way, you're my father, too. And you are _wonderful_ at it. Your baby is very, _very_ blessed to have you for a father. Stop worrying so much."

It took Joseph all of two nanoseconds to pull Mia into his arms and give her the biggest, most fervent hug. He then kissed the top of her head and told her, "Thank you, sweetheart. Thank you for saying that."

After the embrace ended, Mia said to him, "It's true."

"My darling, I know it was terribly painful for you to grow up without your father, but I _promise_ you, he never, _ever_ wanted things to be this way. He wanted – he _badly_ wanted – to be in your life. He loved you, Mia. I know he was never able to be there and really show it the way you needed, and I know how horribly unfair that was to you, _but he did love you._ And he would be _so_ proud of you today. Please, _please_ don't doubt that."

"I know, Joe," Mia said quietly. "I know."

"And anyway, _when_ are you going to start calling me Grandpa like I've been asking you to since your grandma and I got married, huh?"

Mia laughed a little and said, "I'm sorry, Grandpa. I keep forgetting because I've been calling you Joe for so many years."

"Well calling your old man by his first name is disrespectful," Joseph teased. "I'm both your second father and your grandfather, after all. You should treat me with the proper respect I'm due. I bet Isaac didn't go around calling Abraham by his first name, and like Abraham, I too am the great revered patriarch of our family."

Mia jokingly curtseyed then and said, "Oh, please forgive me my oversight, O Great Patriarch."

Joseph folded his arms in that moment and pretended to be stern as he said, "I wasn't going to, but I suppose I'll have to now since you curtseyed."

Mia laughed at that, and then Joseph got serious again for a moment. "I'm still worried about your grandmother."

"I know. I'm just as concerned about grandma's health as you are, but you know better than anyone how tough she is. If there is any woman on this planet in her age group who can handle something like this, it's her. I think that since God decided He wanted to give another older couple a miracle like He did with Abraham and Sarah, He knew exactly what He was doing when He picked you and Grandma. You're going to be a wonderful father, and she can handle the pregnancy, Grandpa. She can handle this better than anyone. She is the strongest person either one of us have ever known."

Joseph knew in that moment how right Mia was, and he said, "That's true. She _is_ the strongest person I've ever known. If _any_ woman on earth could pull this off, of course it would be Clarisse."

"Exactly," Mia agreed. And then a moment later she said, "Well anyway, I'll leave you to your prayers."

"I'll be along in a minute," Joseph told her. After Mia left a moment later, Joseph looked up and said, "Thank You."

After Joseph left the chapel that day, he went back upstairs and sat down and read a book in the living area of his and Clarisse's suite while Clarisse had a good nap. When she woke up a couple of hours later and walked in, Joseph immediately put his book down, got up, put his arms around Clarisse, and gave her that great big, enormous kiss he'd wanted to give her hours before.

"Clarisse, you're beautiful," he told her when the kiss was over.

Clarisse laughed and said, "Joseph, I just woke up from a nap, I'm in my pajamas, and I'm sure my hair is a mess."

Joseph gave Clarisse another fervent kiss and said, "I don't care. You're beautiful. Clarisse, we're having a baby. _A baby!_ "

Clarisse laughed again and said, "Yes, dear, I've been aware of that for quite some time now."

In that next moment, Joseph gave her one more long, hard kiss. "I want to set up Isaac's nursery now. I don't want to wait."

"Okay."

Joseph kissed Clarisse again. "I want his nursery to be here in our suite. Right here with us."

Clarisse smiled and said, "I want that, too."

Joseph kissed Clarisse again. "I want to get a crib for Isaac and start putting it together now. Right now. As soon as possible. I don't want to wait another day."

Clarisse happily laughed at Joseph's enthusiasm. "Whatever you want, Dad."

"Dad. _Dad!_ Clarisse, do you know how happy that word makes me?"

"I'd say about as happy as the word Mom makes me."

"Mom," Joseph said in a joyous whisper, and then he laid yet another fervent kiss on her. "That's right, sweetheart. You're a mommy again. And this time, _nothing_ is going to take this boy away from you. Oh Clarisse, I am going to take _such_ good care of you. Of _both_ of you."

"You always do, my love. You always do."

"You shouldn't be on your feet for such a long time," Joseph said, and then he picked Clarisse up and carried her back over to their bed, Clarisse laughing her head off all the way.

"Joseph, you're being silly!" she playfully scolded him.

"I am not," he said as he set her down on the bed. "You're older now, _and_ you're pregnant. Rest is absolutely essential."

"I'm feeling fine now that I've taken my nap for the day."

"Well I want you to take another nap, just to be certain," Joseph said, and once again, Clarisse had a big laugh.

"Joseph, I feel just fine."

"Well maybe _you_ feel fine, but what if _Isaac_ needs another nap, huh? Doing all that growing is a very big job," Joseph said as he put his hand on Clarisse's stomach. She responded by putting her hands on top of his and smiling.

"Actually, I think Isaac's hungry for bananas because I'm getting another craving."

"Bananas! Of course! You need to eat something. I'll be right back. Don't move," he told her, and then just before he left to go downstairs to the kitchen, he gave her one last long kiss.

After Joseph had left, Clarisse laughed and shook her head, and then she put her hands on her abdomen once again and looked down at her growing stomach. "Well Isaac," she said softly, "your daddy is _very_ anxious to meet you. And so am I, sweetheart. So am I. Maybe I wasn't planning it at this time in my life, but I can't wait to be a mommy again."


	5. Bad News

**Note to readers:** There's a couple of things I need to let everybody know about first before you begin reading chapter 5. First of all, we have a situation with the reviews that is affecting all stories on the entire site. If anybody decides they want to leave a review, I will still see it in my e-mail, but it will not be posted for a while yet. They're saying at the Fanfiction Help Desk that it'll probably be about Tuesday or Wednesday before this problem gets fixed. They're saying reviews will show up eventually. And to everyone who has left such kind reviews and has supported _Cherished_ , thank you so much! :) It is appreciated. The second thing I need to talk to you about has to do with my crazy writing, lol. I love drama, and it's kind of a trademark of my writing that at some point, I'm going to stir up trouble and cause mayhem. A lot of mayhem. That's just what I do, lol. And the next several chapters are going to get more dramatic. I said in the summary that Mia would be dealing with some shocking problems, and this is where the shocking problems begin. However, I want to assure all my readers here who have also read _Quiet Strength_ and are familiar with my work that even though I will be making things more dramatic for a little while, things are **not** going to get as bad as they got in Q.S. Nobody's going to die this time, lol. Things will get dramatic and emotional for a while, but there won't be any deaths this time around, so to all my readers here who have also read Q.S., you can relax. Now, without further ado, here's chapter 5. I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for stopping by! :)

 **Chapter 5: Bad News**

It was a cold winter day in early February when Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia were all gathered together with Dr. Hart in Dr. Mackenzie's exam room for Clarisse's latest prenatal visit, watching Baby Isaac on the 4-D ultrasound screen that had been brought to the palace a while back.

"Was that a kick I just saw?" asked Joseph.

Clarisse laughed and answered, "Yes, it was!"

"Incredible!"

"He's going to be lively, isn't he Grandma?" said Mia.

"Very much so! Pierre was a quiet, calm little baby, but _your father? He_ was _always_ kicking and turning cartwheels and making his presence known! For the past couple of weeks, Isaac has been reminding me of Philippe a whole lot."

"You know Grandma, there are some conspiracy theorists out there who are claiming that Isaac is really an alien baby." They all had a good laugh at that.

"If so, he's an alien baby that looks exactly like Joseph!"

"Grandpa, are you part alien?" Mia teased, and Joe rolled his eyes at his granddaughter.

"No, dear girl. I am just as human as the rest of you."

"Most people agree that you really got pregnant through in vitro fertilization with an egg donor," said Mia.

Dr. Hart laughed and said, "Aliens. In vitro fertilization. Egg donors. There will always be some people in this world who simply cannot bring themselves to accept a good old-fashioned miracle from the Almighty. Now I'll admit that this is the most _unusual_ kind of miracle I've ever seen in all my years of practice, but it's not the _first_ miracle I've seen as both a midwife and a doctor. I've seen my share of cases over the years that have boggled my mind a good bit. Whether the stubborn human race likes to admit it or not, sometimes, miracles really _do_ still happen in this old world."

In the instant Dr. Hart said that, they all watched as little Isaac kicked again, and then Joseph took Clarisse's hand and said, "You'll get no argument from me, doctor."

"And your little miracle is coming along splendidly. My Queen, both you and your little Isaac are doing great."

"Just what I like to hear," Clarisse said with a smile. Then Dr. Hart cleaned up all the gel from Clarisse's growing abdomen, and after she did that, Clarisse pulled her blouse down and Joseph helped her down from the exam table, and then they both said goodbye to Dr. Hart.

On their way out the door, Mia told them, "Guys, why don't you just go on ahead? I need to talk to Dr. Hart about a little something for a minute."

"Alright, Mia," said Joseph as he walked out with Clarisse.

"What can I do for you, my young little Queen?" Dr. Hart asked once they were alone, and Mia smiled. Dr. Hart often referred to Mia as "her young little queen" and similar nicknames because Mia reminded her so much of her own granddaughter who was close to Mia's age, which Mia thought was really sweet.

"It's really no big deal, Dr. Hart. It's just this annoying little problem I have that doesn't seem to get better, but I'm sure it's nothing. As a matter of fact, why don't we just forget I said anything. I'm sure I'm making a big deal out of nothing, and anyway, I have a country to go run. And I'm also sure that a busy doctor like you doesn't appreciate it when somebody wastes your time." In reality, Mia had actually been putting off talking to Dr. Hart about the abnormal bleeding she'd been experiencing for quite some time now because she hadn't wanted to deal with it, but she knew because of her promise to Marjorie, she had to say something now whether she wanted to or not.

"Hold on there, little queen. First of all, it is _never_ a waste of my time to listen to a woman when she's having a problem with her body. I'm a gynecologist, and that is my job. That is _precisely_ what I'm here for. Second of all, as our nation's Queen, the _last_ thing you need to do is to avoid talking to a doctor when you know something is wrong, no matter how small of an issue it may seem to you. You've got to stay healthy and strong, not just for yourself, but for Genovia, and for all the people who care about you."

"I know."

"Now you quit being silly with all this 'wasting my time' nonsense and tell me what's going on."

"It's the strangest thing. For over a year now, I've had this crazy kind of freak period or something that just never shuts off. I am literally _always_ bleeding. I saw a couple of doctors about it back when I was in college, but they said it was nothing. One of them told me that it was probably just my body's reaction to the stress of knowing I would be running a country soon. And he's probably right. I mean, the human body can have really crazy ways of reacting to stress, right?"

"The human body does have varied reactions to stress, yes, but this is _not_ just stress, my love. Not for you to have abnormal bleeding for longer than a year. Something's not right. I'll bring all the instruments I need here to Dr. Mackenzie's office and I'll give you an examination tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp."

Mia shook her head and said, "I can't tomorrow. There's just no way. I have so many meetings…"

Dr. Hart looked the young girl straight in the eye and told her seriously, "Cancel them. Cancel however many meetings and appointments you have to. This is your health we're dealing with, here, and you've put off getting this problem taken care of for far too long as it is. We need to get some answers, and we need to get them _now_ , and we are _going_ to get them now. You may be my Queen in all other respects, but when it comes to gynecological matters, _I_ am _your_ queen and I will not be disobeyed. Is that understood, my girl?"

Mia smiled at Dr. Hart's concern for her and answered, "It's understood, doctor." Then she said goodbye, and left to find Marjorie.

Shades accompanied Mia back to her office, and when they got there, Marjorie was there waiting for them with several announcements for Mia.

"Your Majesty, because Viscount Mabrey is continuing to put up such a fuss in the press about the maternity bill you and Prime Minister Motaz have been supporting in Parliament, the press secretary thinks that we should schedule a meeting for tomorrow–"

"I'm sorry Marjorie, but we'll have to put off dealing with the press for at least one more day. I also need you to cancel all my meetings for tomorrow morning. I have to see Dr. Hart tomorrow. She's coming to the palace to give me an exam."

"Certainly, Your Majesty," Marjorie said, and the relief she felt was more than obvious. Marjorie really had been worried about the young Queen for quite some time now. "I'll take care of that for you right now."

"Thank you," Mia told her, and then she sat down at her desk and got started on her usual mountain of paperwork that was always there waiting for her.

The next day, Dr. Hart ran a series of tests, including an ultrasound, and then she told Mia that she wanted to come back to the palace the following day to perform a biopsy of her uterus. Mia was not sexually active so she didn't use a douche or any kind of birth control, which would have interfered with the biopsy, but Dr. Hart explained to her that she still couldn't perform the procedure yet because Mia had to refrain from using a tampon for at least twenty-four hours first, as using a tampon within that length of time would also interfere with the results of the biopsy. Often when a person had to have a kind of biopsy, he or she would have to be hospitalized, but fortunately, a uterine biopsy was a very simple procedure that could be performed in a doctor's office and the doctor could have the results within a matter of minutes, which for a person in Mia's situation, was very helpful. Since Dr. Hart could perform the procedure in Dr. Mackenzie's exam room herself with the proper equipment, it made it far easier for Mia to undergo the necessary tests without needing to tell anyone she didn't want to. As a matter of fact, the only two people who knew anything at all about her appointments with Dr. Hart were Marjorie and Shades, and of the two, Marjorie was the only one who had any _real_ clue what was going on, of course. And while Shades, the Queen's personal bodyguard and the Royal Head of Security who'd replaced Joseph after he'd retired, had had to stand outside the exam room in Dr. Mackenzie's office because security protocol required it, he honestly didn't know what it was all about and thankfully, like his former boss, he was not one to gossip.

"Alright, my little queen," Dr. Hart said as she walked into Dr. Mackenzie's exam room after performing the biopsy, "I think I have an idea of what's wrong. However, I do want to run a CT scan and an MRI of your uterus just to be absolutely certain of the diagnosis."

"Do you really think all that is necessary, doctor?"

"My dear, you're talking to a fellow queen, and we queens never mess around with things that are unnecessary. I do feel certain of my diagnosis, but I still prefer to be as thorough as possible. You wouldn't want me to be anything less."

"No, I guess I wouldn't. I just hope and pray I'll be able to keep all this out of the press and that all the palace gossip about me won't get out of hand."

"Let your Royal Head of Security and your personal assistant handle those matters. They're both very capable people, and just like me, I know they'll take good care of you. In the meantime, I'll call and make the arrangements for you to have your scans done at the Pyrus Medical Center first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Mia said quietly, not really knowing what to make of it all.

After her visit with Dr. Hart ended, Mia had a talk with Marjorie and Shades and let them know that she was going to the hospital the next day so that Dr. Hart could run additional tests, and she made it _very_ crystal clear to both of them that they were to tell as few people as possible and that the matter was to be kept completely private. Mia knew that it would take an utter miracle to keep this news from spreading all over the palace and the media, but she was determined to try for a miracle nonetheless. The _last_ thing she wanted was for the entire palace staff – not to mention the entire country of Genovia – to be gossiping about her gynecological problems!

"I'm sure you'll want Shades to have a security team to accompany your grandparents when they go with you to the hospital as well," Marjorie suggested, but Mia shook her head.

"No, Marjorie. When I say that I want as few people as possible to know about my tests tomorrow, I mean it. I'm not telling _anybody_ about this I don't have to, and that includes my grandparents. I don't want to tell them about all these tests until I know for certain what's really going on. I don't want to worry them. They have enough on their minds with this pregnancy as it is. So I'm counting on the two of you to keep this entire matter confidential – or as confidential as something _can_ be in _this_ palace, anyway. I know I'm supposed to be in session with Parliament tomorrow so I can butt heads with Viscount Mabrey over the maternity bill again, but we'll just have to make it clear that for private reasons, I simply will be unable to attend tomorrow."

"The maternity bill" as everyone had been calling it was ideas for new legislation Mia and Prime Minister Motaz had come up with together to make things better for working mothers in Genovia. If passed through Parliament, more expecting mothers would receive a longer, _paid_ maternity leave, and it would also provide for more daycare facilities in the workplace for working mothers as well. The bill was very popular throughout Genovia, and in fact many Parliament members supported it, especially Queen Clarisse's former assistant, Lady Charlotte Kutaway, but unfortunately, there were still some people in Parliament like Mabrey as well who were fighting the bill every step of the way, not for any _good_ kind of reason, but simply because they wanted to give Mia a hard time. When Mia had attended her first session of Parliament as a princess, Mabrey had cruelly ripped her apart when she'd made a very good, kindhearted, and practical suggestion, but she had gotten a lot stronger and wiser since then and was now doing a good job of holding her own in a battle against him, which was something it seemed she _constantly_ had to do in Parliament these days. Mabrey was getting more vicious than ever.

"Understood, Your Majesty," said Marjorie.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We'll see to everything," Shades assured her.

"Thank you. I'm counting on you," Mia told them once again.

"You can count on us, dear," Marjorie said kindly.

Mia smiled and said, "I know I can. Alright, let's get back to work then, huh?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. We'll start taking care of everything now," said Marjorie.

"We'll take care of it all," Shades said, and then both he and Marjorie got to work on the task of dealing with this matter, and Mia sat down at her desk and once again got started on her usual mountain of paperwork. She was about halfway through the mountain a little later that day when Marjorie came back into her office with some pleasant news. Her former fiancé, Andrew Jacoby, was coming to spend a little bit of time in Genovia.

When Mia came to live in Genovia full-time after graduating from college, Viscount Mabrey had suddenly announced out of the blue that his nephew, Lord Nicholas Devereaux, was in line for the Genovian crown ahead of Baron and Baroness von Troken, a couple who'd been unsuccessfully scheming to take the throne for themselves for years. After arguing about it in Parliament a good bit, the other Parliament members decided to enforce Genovia's archaic, sexist law that said a crown princess had to be married before she could ascend the throne. Then they agreed that if Mia was not married within thirty days, she would officially forfeit the throne to Lord Devereaux. Mia then agreed to an arranged marriage, and she and Andrew Jacoby, the British Duke of Kenilworth, met and became engaged soon after. But even though Mia was engaged to Andrew, she still got into a couple of embarrassing situations with Lord Devereaux because she'd really felt attracted to him at the time and not to Andrew. (Andrew had also met another girl, Lady Elissa, and had secretly become infatuated with her at the time, which was pretty unhelpful to their overall situation as well.) Eventually, on the day of her almost-wedding to Andrew, Mia realized she couldn't get married to a man she wasn't in love with, called off the wedding, and successfully managed to convince Parliament to overturn the unfair marriage law. Her grandmother and Joseph later got married themselves that day, thanks largely to Mia's help, and Mia officially ascended the throne several days later. But although things didn't work out between Mia and Andrew romantically, he was still a really decent guy and he and Mia truly liked each other, and they had remained in touch since the breakup of their engagement and had maintained their friendship.

"That's great news, Marjorie. Give Andrew a call and let him know he's welcome to stay here in the palace during his stay in Genovia if he wants to. I'd really love to see him again."

"Right away, Your Majesty," Marjorie responded, and then she headed for her own office to make the call.

The following day, Marjorie really wanted to be by her young Queen's side at the hospital to be a source of emotional support for her since only she, Shades, and a few select others on the security staff were in the loop about the tests Mia was having done at the hospital, but she was unable to because as Mia's personal assistant, it was up to her to keep things running smoothly at the palace. Marjorie kept her feelings to herself as much as possible, wanting to be strong for Mia, of course, but deep down, she was really worried, as were Shades and his men. They all knew that something was up in order for Dr. Hart to be running so many tests. Mercifully, Marjorie, Shades, and the palace's royal press secretary were able to come up with a proper cover story as to why Mia was at the hospital that day and the press was kept at bay, thanks to the diligence of Shades and his men, but even though the media was handled well for the most part, it was still a worrisome situation for everyone who worked with Mia and cared for her as they did.

Shades had assured Marjorie that as soon as he knew anything about what was going on with the Queen, he would give her a call and let her know. As protocol dictated, he stood just outside the hospital room where Mia had remained after Dr. Hart had performed the necessary scans. Once the tests were over, Mia got up off the gurney where she'd been lying and got dressed again, and sat down in one of the nearby chairs and waited for the doctor to come talk to her. As Mia sat and waited, Shades discreetly watched her through the window in the adjacent room. Shades knew when he saw Dr. Hart walk back into the room that he should probably turn his gaze away in order to give the young Queen as much privacy as he possibly could, but because he was so concerned and wanted to know if her problem was serious or not, he kept his eye on her. Shades watched closely in the next few moments as Dr. Hart began explaining the Queen's diagnosis to her, and when he saw her start to cry, he _really_ began to worry.

Staying true to his word, despite the fact that he knew he wasn't supposed to use a cell phone in the hospital, he took his out of his pocket, called Marjorie, and told her, "I don't know what's wrong with the Queen, Marge, but whatever it is, it's bad news."


	6. Heavy Conversations

**Note to readers:** We still have the same problem going on with the reviews. If anyone wants to leave a review, I will still see it in my e-mail but it will not show up on this site. Hopefully this will be fixed in a couple of days. Thanks to everyone for all your support! :)

 **Chapter 6: Heavy Conversations**

One evening a week after receiving her shocking diagnosis from Dr. Hart, Mia sat quietly underneath Genovia's most famous pear tree – the very spot where she and Andrew Jacoby had previously gotten engaged – and drew the winter scenery before her in her sketchbook. While Mia's mother, Helen Thermopolis, had always been a great eclectic artist, Mia was also a bit of an artist herself in her own right. Mia never felt her art could begin to compare to her mother's, of course, but still, she did enjoy sketching a nice little landscape picture with colored pencils every now and then. This was the first time since she became Queen that she'd taken the time to do another sketch. After getting her diagnosis, now, she suddenly found herself wanting to savor every moment and capture every winter sunset in her sketchbook she possibly could.

"That's some lovely work there," a familiar voice behind her interrupted her thoughts, and Mia smiled.

"Thank you, Andrew," she said pleasantly as he sat down beside her. Andrew had arrived in Genovia the day before and had taken her up on her offer to stay in the palace for a little while.

"It's true. You're a gifted artist."

"Thank you, but I'm really nothing in comparison to my mother. _She's_ the real artist of the two of us."

"Well I say that you're _both_ real artists, each in your own way. And anyway, you shouldn't compare yourself to your mother. It's like the old saying, comparing apples and oranges. She has her own special style of art that makes her unique, and you have yours, and both styles are equally beautiful."

"Well thank you very much for the kind advice. I will definitely keep that in mind," Mia told him as she finished up with her drawing, and then she put her colored pencils and sketchpad aside.

"Anyway, thank you again for inviting me to stay here in the palace while I'm visiting Genovia. It's very kind of you."

"Don't mention it. We're old pals now, and what are buddies for, right? So how long are you on leave for?" Andrew was still serving as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, and he had some leave coming.

"The next week."

"Are you spending all of your leave time here in Genovia, or are you going to go visit your parents by any chance?"

"If it's alright with you, I think I'm going to stay here with you in the palace, where I'm amongst friends," Andrew joked, although sadly, it wasn't entirely a joke. Andrew hadn't ever admitted it to Mia while they were engaged and still just barely getting to know one another, but as they'd gotten a little closer over the past seven months since she first ascended the throne, he had let Mia know that his relationship with his adoptive parents had always been quite strained.

"It's perfectly alright with me. After all the insanity I go through fighting with Mabrey in Parliament every day and after the bombshell kind of news I got recently, I could really use a friend right now, myself."

"Is it okay to ask what's wrong?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it right now."

"Is there anything at all that I can do while I'm here?"

"Yes, there is, actually. When I'm done with all my Parliament sessions and meetings and functions and paperwork for the day and I'm actually free, spend a little time with me. Talk walks with me. Tell me all about your latest adventures in the Royal Air Force. Hang out with me a little bit. Make me feel less alone. Can you do that?"

Andrew looked at Mia with great kindness in his eyes, put his hand on top of hers, and answered, "Of course I can."

"Thank you. I would appreciate that very, very much."

"What are friends for?"

They sat together in a comfortable silence for the next minute or so as Mia returned to her own thoughts. Like with Joseph and Clarisse, one of the most important things Mia and Andrew had always shared was their faith in Christ. They weren't legalistic, Bible-thumping hypocrites, of course, but their faith was always very important to both of them. And as Mia sat with Andrew and thought about it now, she knew that it was the perfect opportunity for her to say the things to Andrew the good Lord had put on her heart to tell him for quite a while now.

"Andrew, I owe you an apology," she told him seriously.

Andrew shook his head and responded, "Mia, I can't imagine what for."

"You know as well as I do that back when we were engaged, I did some pretty stupid things. I kissed another man, sneaked out on a dumb secret date with him, and basically had an emotional affair with him while I was _supposed_ to be working on building a relationship with you. I was not a very honorable or faithful fiancée to you at all, and yet in spite of the terrible way I conducted myself with Nicholas, you were still willing to overlook that and get married to me anyway, just because you gave me your word that you would. I just want you to know that I realize it now that you really did deserve a lot better from me, and I want you to know that I'm sorry."

Again Andrew shook his head, and he told her, "Mia, stop. You don't owe me any apologies, and the reason our engagement didn't work out was because _neither one of us_ handled ourselves in that relationship the way we should have. It wasn't just you who was at fault. You should have been a more faithful fiancée, yes, but _I_ should have been a more _protective and supportive_ fiancé. There were moments when you were really hurting and you needed my support, like when Mabrey spooked your horse with that rubber snake and you fled to the stables in tears. It shouldn't have been _Nicholas Devereaux_ who came after you to check on you. _It should have been me._ And you don't leave someone as inexperienced in the ways of the world and royal life as you were back then alone with the likes of somebody like Nicholas. It might have been an embarrassing stunt you pulled with Nicholas at the water fountain, but still, _I never_ should have followed after Lady Elissa and left you alone with him so he could manipulate you. I could tell just by looking at him how manipulative and conniving he was and that he was just trying to mess with your head, and as your fiancé, I did _nothing_ to try to protect you from Nicholas when I should have been _the first person_ to look out for you. And for that, I apologize as well."

Mia looked into Andrew's kind eyes then and said, "Don't worry about it. You know, things might have worked out for us if we hadn't had our families, the entire palace staff, the entire country of Genovia, _and_ the entire U.K. watching our every move."

"I agree. I think that maybe we weren't as supportive of each other as we could and should have been because deep down, we were both so angry that we were being forced into it by everyone else."

"Exactly. I think our not supporting each other as much as we should have was probably our own subconscious way of rebelling against the engagement because the way it happened was just so unfair to both of us. I was being forced into it by Parliament and you were being forced into it by your parents, and nobody likes to be forced into anything."

"That's very true," Andrew agreed. "But the important thing is, all that is behind us, you have become an amazing Queen of Genovia just like I said you would, and today, we have a great friendship."

"Yes, we do," Mia said with a smile, and then she gave his hand an affectionate squeeze before she let it go.

"You mentioned a minute ago that one of the things I could do for you while I'm here is to take walks with you. Would you care to go for a walk together now?"

"I would be delighted to. Let's go," Mia told him, and then they both got up and had a nice stroll through the palace garden, even though it was February and they had to be bundled up in their coats because of the cold.

The truth was, Mia was going through _so_ much inside right now. She was feeling so many extreme emotions. Fear. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. Despair. Uncertainty. And having a good friend like Andrew, someone to simply be by her side right now and not ask any questions she wasn't prepared to answer, was a big help. But unfortunately, being able to keep her personal crisis to herself was an option she would not have for much longer. Mia knew that as Queen, she simply had no choice but to inform Prime Minister Motaz and her strongest political ally, Lady Charlotte Kutaway, of her situation so they could take care of all the political matters of their government that would have to be handled during her absence. Of course she hated having to tell her colleagues her personal business, but again, politically speaking, she simply had no choice. They _had_ to know what was going on.

The next day, after another grueling Parliament session with Viscount Mabrey ended, Mia asked Sebastian Motaz and Charlotte to stay behind so she could have a word with them in private. After the last Parliament member walked out the door, Mia sat down at the table with the two of them and began to explain everything.

"Sebastian, Charlotte, before I begin telling you what I need to tell you, I want to make it clear that what I am about to discuss with you _does not_ leave this room. You are both under strict orders from your Queen to not mention this to _anyone_ , and Sebastian, that even includes your wife. Is that understood?"

"Understood, Your Majesty," said Sebastian.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Charlotte told her.

"Good. I also want to say before I start that I am really sorry. I do not at all mean to embarrass you or make you feel uncomfortable, but I'm afraid I have to tell you something that's very personal. For political reasons, this discussion simply cannot be avoided. Something is going on with me, and it's better that the two of you know about it up front."

"As long as we've been around the Genovian political arena, Your Majesty, it would be pretty hard to make us feel uncomfortable. We've seen it all," Sebastian assured her.

"Indeed," Charlotte agreed. "Your Majesty, you said just now that something is going on with you. Are you alright? It's not your health, is it?"

After a long moment of silence, Mia finally answered, "Yes, Charlotte, Sebastian, _it is_ my health. I recently found out from my doctor that I have uterine cancer."

"Your Majesty," Sebastian gasped.

"Oh, God," Charlotte whispered. "Your Majesty, I am so sorry."

"Thank you. So am I."

"How advanced is it?" asked Charlotte.

"Dr. Hart wasn't able to tell me anything conclusive from all the scans she took, but in her expert opinion, she believes it's in the earlier stages, either Stage I or Stage II."

"What's the course of treatment? Will you need surgery? Radiation? Chemotherapy? Anything like that?" Sebastian questioned.

"I'll need a complete hysterectomy. According to Dr. Hart, it's pretty unlikely that I'll need chemotherapy, but I may need radiation treatment afterwards. She won't be able to tell for certain if I'll need any kind of treatment after surgery until she performs the hysterectomy, though, because she won't be able to tell what stage my cancer is at until she's done that."

"I am so sorry, Your Majesty," Charlotte told Mia, and she meant it with all her heart. It was heartbreaking to think that such a vibrant young lady like Queen Mia would be losing the ability to have children at such an early point in her life; that she would never get the chance to have a baby of her own. "I know something like this at your age must be very hard."

"Thank you, Charlotte. And thank you for your concern, Sebastian."

"Of course," he said.

"The reason I needed to tell you guys this is because I have to go away for a while. I'm not sure how long. It's obviously important for my health that I get this hysterectomy done as soon as possible, but I cannot get it done now. It's no secret that one of my most important jobs as Queen is to one day have an heir to carry on my family's royal line, and since I am the only grandchild of King Rupert and Queen Clarisse, I am the only person who can do that. As Queen, I understand what it means to our country to make sure my family's legacy continues for another generation. Having a hysterectomy now would clearly make that pretty difficult. Dr. Hart has put me on some medication she hopes will keep my cancer in check for now, and a week from today, I have an appointment with one of the leading fertility specialists in the world. He works in a clinic in Switzerland, and I'm going there to see him and talk to him about what my options are for getting pregnant as soon as possible."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," said Charlotte. "I don't mean to be indelicate, but…are you talking about getting pregnant…with a donor?"

" _I would prefer_ to do it the old-fashioned way; you know, fall in love with a great guy, get married first, then get pregnant, etc., etc., but I'm in a race against time. This needs to happen _now_ , just as soon as possible. And again, I am really sorry to have to get into a discussion about things that are so personal, but we all know that as soon as I get on my plane and go to Switzerland, Mabrey is going to make things a lot harder for you guys in Parliament, especially when he finds out that I'll be gone for an indefinite amount of time, so I wanted to go ahead and tell the two of you about everything now, before I leave, in order for you to be prepared. I felt you deserved to know exactly what's going on and I wanted to you to know that I'm not just going to Switzerland on some crazy kind of spur-of-the-moment vacation; that I am leaving for very good reasons that cannot be avoided. I realize, with all the grief Mabrey and his cronies are giving us about the maternity bill now, it's not exactly a good time for me to leave. The two of you have always been my strongest supporters, and I hate to have to leave this entire situation in your hands right now. I will do whatever I can from Switzerland, but battling it out with Mabrey & Co. in Parliament will be up to the two of you after I've gone, and again, I wanted you to know so you can be prepared. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it just cannot be helped. I'm sorry."

"Your Majesty, you shouldn't be worrying about us now," Charlotte said kindly.

"Charlotte's right, my dear. Please, _please_ don't worry about us or about Mabrey. We can handle him. Right now, you just need to concentrate on taking care of yourself."

"That's right," Charlotte agreed.

"Your Majesty…Mia, may I say something?" asked Sebastian, who couldn't stop thinking about how much the young Queen reminded him of his own niece who was close to her age and found himself really wanting to look out for her now.

"Of course, Sebastian. What is it?"

"I don't mean to get too personal either, and I know it's not my place to say this, but…I knew your father well. We went to the same school when we were kids. We grew up together. And I honestly feel like I can tell you what he would be telling you if he were here today, and that's this: forget the royal bloodline. Forget about producing a royal heir because _your life_ is _so_ much more important. I watched my mother struggle with this terrible disease for years before we finally lost her ten years ago, and I can tell you from experience that the _only_ way to keep cancer in check like you said is to _get rid of it_ as soon as possible. Please, dear, _don't_ mess around with this."

Perhaps it wasn't Sebastian's place to give the Queen that kind of personal advice, especially when she hadn't asked for it, but because of his old close friendship with Mia's father, he really couldn't help but think of Mia as a kind of niece of his sometimes, and he couldn't help but want to look out for her as he knew her own father would try to do if he were still alive. And because of everything he'd witnessed his own mother go through in her long battle against cancer, he knew better than anyone how dangerous it was to put off getting it treated. Sebastian knew the young Queen was literally playing Russian roulette with her life.

"I appreciate your concern very much, Sebastian. I really do, and _I do_ hear what you're saying. I know delaying treatment right now is not the best thing in the world that I could be doing for my health, but there is another side I have to think about. As Queen, I also have to think about what's right for Genovia. _I do not_ want my family's crown to wind up in the untrustworthy hands of Nicholas Devereaux, and if I die before he does and if I die without an heir, that is exactly what's going to happen. I know I'm taking chances, here. I'm not stupid and I'm not blind. I know it's not safe to wait for very long before getting the hysterectomy. But don't underestimate me. After all, _I am_ Clarisse Renaldi's granddaughter, and I am just as much of a fighter as she is. I may be a sensitive person, but I can be pretty tough, too, when I have to be, and I can assure you both that once my future child is born, this cancer is not going to stand a chance against me. Just as soon as I am able to, _I will_ fight this and _I will_ defeat it, and _I will_ be sticking around for a very long time to come."

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Charlotte said.

"Your Majesty, if I may ask, does your grandmother know about this?"

"Uh, Sebastian, I don't at all mean to be rude, but I think it might be best if you head on home now," Charlotte told him before Mia could answer. "You know Sheila and Marissa are at home now waiting for you so they can start eating dinner, and you also know that your ladies _do not_ like to be kept waiting."

Sebastian caught Charlotte's _very_ obvious hint that she would like a word alone with the Queen, so he responded, "Of course. Your Majesty, Charlotte, I'll see you ladies soon." Then he put his hand on Mia's shoulder and said to her, "Take care, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Sebastian. I will," Mia told him, and then he walked out the door, leaving the two ladies alone.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that with Sebastian just now, Your Majesty," said Charlotte.

"Oh no, Charlotte, I wasn't offended by anything Sebastian said. He's just worried about me, and I know he's only trying to watch out for me. I suppose I could have played the Queen Card and told him it wasn't his place to question my personal medical decisions, but I didn't want to come off sounding disrespectful. After all, he is older than I am, and I know he only reacted that way because he cares and he doesn't want to see anything happen to me."

"And I feel the exact same way. No matter what decisions you make and no matter what happens, the only thing I care about in the end is your health and well-being. You are someone I care about, and I just want you to be okay. However, even though he is older than you and the prime minister, he still had no right to make you feel like you had to justify your private medical decisions to us. Your choices about whether or not to delay treatment for your cancer and to pursue a pregnancy are _your_ business, not Sebastian's, and you don't owe him or me or _anyone_ any explanations for those choices. Maybe you are younger than Sebastian, but you are still the Queen, and he should have shown his Queen more respect than he did just now."

"I appreciate you saying that, Charlotte, and I know you're right. Anyway, this whole entire subject is extremely difficult for me to talk about. As a matter of fact, you and Sebastian are the first people I've told. Nobody else knows anything. My grandparents think I'm going to Switzerland on business. They think it's some kind of big meeting with a Swiss diplomat to discuss future trading. I never would have told you guys anything at all if it weren't for the politics of it. Unfortunately, what goes on in the private life of a Genovian royal affects the whole country, so nothing in my family's lives can _really_ stay private for very long."

"After all my years as your grandmother's personal assistant, I understand _completely_. I understand why you had to tell us, and you don't have to worry about us. We're not going to tell a soul."

"I know that, and I appreciate it. I really do want to keep this private for as long as I possibly can. I _especially_ don't want my grandmother to know now. With her pregnancy and everything she's going through at the moment, she does _not_ need to have to worry about my diagnosis, too. Frankly, I'm amazed that I've been able to keep this whole thing a secret for this long, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth and I will not question it. I will continue to keep this from her for just as long as I can. It's better that she be kept in the dark about it for as long as possible."

"I understand your wanting to look out for your grandmother, and I understand your wanting to look out for Genovia. I understand your decision to put off the hysterectomy and to pursue a pregnancy. As Queen, sometimes you have to make tough decisions that not everybody else agrees with. I understand that. But as your friend, I must ask you, please don't forget to look out for yourself as well."

"Thank you, Charlotte. I won't forget."

"You're absolutely right about what you said. _You are_ as tough and strong as your grandmother, and _you will_ get through this. And I want you to know that as both your colleague and your friend, I will do _everything_ I can to help you."

"Thank you. That means so much. It really does."

Mia and Charlotte said goodbye then, and a little while later, Mia went upstairs to her grandparents' suite to spend a little time with them. Clarisse had just awakened from a nap a few minutes before Mia came in.

"Hi, guys," she said. "How are Mommy and Daddy doing tonight?"

"We're very well, darling," Clarisse answered. "How are you? What are you up to?"

"Getting ready to take yodeling lessons," Mia teased, and Clarisse and Joseph both laughed. "And anyway, it may be a business trip, but I am determined to look on this as a vacation – a vacation from Mabrey and the headaches of all the arguments in Parliament."

"I hear you," said Clarisse. "And anyway, I think it'll be good for you to have a bit of a break. I know how hard you've been working these past seven months since you first ascended the throne. You need to get away from the palace for a little while, _and_ away from Mabrey. I know from all my years of experience that he really could try the patience of a saint."

"You can say that again," Mia sighed, and then in that moment, Joseph's eyes locked with hers, and his many years of well-honed ability at reading people and his great instincts alerted him that something wasn't right with his granddaughter.

"Are you alright, my dear?" he asked. "You look tired."

"I'm alright," Mia lied. "It's just been a long day. Hey, listen. I know it may seem kind of strange for me to ask this, but can I just hug you guys for a second?"

"I suppose so," Clarisse said hesitantly, who was always very uncomfortable giving hugs, of course, even to her own grandchild.

"Come here," Joseph said much more warmly as he opened his arms to Mia. Unlike Clarisse, Joseph had no problem with showing affection, especially to people he was particularly close to, like his wife and granddaughter. And besides, he could see it in her face that for whatever reason, Mia really, _really_ needed a hug right now.

Mia walked into Joseph's and Clarisse's arms in that moment and savored the group hug they gave her. She needed love; she needed support; she needed encouragement, and she needed all those things badly, and she needed them _now._ And while a group hug certainly wasn't enough to solve her problems with cancer, being in their embrace now _did_ give her some much-needed comfort.

"I love you guys," she said quietly, and while Clarisse remained silent, Joseph kissed the top of his granddaughter's head.

"We love you too, sweetheart," he told her.

The embrace ended then, and in that next moment, Joseph took a good, hard look into his granddaughter's face and eyes, and he realized that something was _really_ wrong, and that it was something that went much deeper than just another day of fighting with Mabrey in Parliament. Mia had in fact been acting much more subdued over the past week for obvious reasons, but Joseph had been too wrapped up in Clarisse and the baby to notice. Now though, Joseph realized that he would have to start paying more attention to what was going on with Mia, and that he would have to find out what was really going on with this sudden trip to Switzerland. He would have to investigate.


	7. Flawed

**Chapter 7: Flawed**

Mercifully for Mia, she did _not_ have a session with Parliament that day. However, she would still be very busy throughout the day with other meetings and appointments with various diplomats from other countries. Meanwhile, after Joseph had a private talk with Mia the night before and got nowhere, he began his investigation into what was going on with her by asking a very reliable source: Charlotte. And Joseph didn't beat around the bush. He just came right out and asked her point blank when they were alone just outside Mia's empty office if she knew if whether or not there was anything wrong with Mia and if it had anything to do with her sudden plans to go to Switzerland.

And Charlotte didn't beat around the bush either. "The answer to both your questions is yes. There _is_ something going on with the Queen and it _does_ have to do with her trip to Switzerland. I'm really sorry, but I cannot say anything more than that. The Queen forbids me to discuss it."

"I understand. Just tell me this: is it anything serious?"

Charlotte locked her eyes with Joseph in that moment and told him, "It's _very_ serious, Joe. You and Queen Clarisse _really_ need to talk to her and try to get her to open up about what's going on, and you need to do it soon, _before_ she leaves."

"Right," said Joseph, and then he left to continue his investigation.

In the meantime, Clarisse was upstairs in Mia's suite. She had borrowed a pair of Mia's earrings and worn them at a royal dinner they'd all attended a couple of nights before, and she was there now to return them. After she put them back with the rest of Mia's jewelry, Clarisse began to walk out of the suite when she saw Mia's diary lying open, face down on the floor. Ordinarily, Mia was never careless about her diary. Mia always kept it locked and tucked away safely in one of her drawers, but Clarisse knew she had forgotten to set her alarm the night before and had woken up late that morning, and that she had probably forgotten about her diary because she'd been in such a rush to get to her first meeting of the day with a diplomat from Portugal. Clarisse bent down to pick it up and put it back on Mia's nightstand where she'd left it, of course, but after she picked it up, she accidentally lost her grip on it for a second, and she lost the place where Mia had bookmarked her diary. As she went to close it, Clarisse saw a phrase written on one of the pages that caught her eye. It said: _As much as I love her, Grandma can be SO frustrating sometimes!_

As much as I love her, Grandma can be so frustrating sometimes. Those words stung. Clarisse knew in that moment that she should just shake it off and forget about it; that diaries were for expressing temporary emotions and that Mia had probably written those words after an argument they'd had in the past or something. And above all else, _she knew_ she should do the right thing and respect Mia's privacy by closing the diary, putting it down, and forgetting about what she'd just seen. As a royal herself, the queen part of Clarisse _well_ understood how it felt to have someone else constantly invading her privacy. _How_ could she do that to her granddaughter now? However, there was also the grandma part of her that was hurt and upset about what she'd just seen in Mia's diary. She'd always thought she'd been kind and generous to her only grandchild. _Why_ would Mia think she was so frustrating? What had she done to offend her?

Over the next several moments, those questions continued to gnaw and gnaw away at Clarisse until finally, she just couldn't stand it anymore. The grandma won out over the ever-proper queen, and she sat down on the side of Mia's bed and allowed herself to read the entire diary entry. It said:

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I just got into a really big fight with Grandma tonight, and I am MAJORLY depressed. This whole becoming a queen thing is SO HARD! Of course, I always knew it wouldn't be easy, but I really wasn't prepared inside for how difficult this is actually becoming. First I find out that I have to agree to an arranged marriage and get married within thirty days or else I forfeit the throne to Lord Nicholas Devereaux. THEN I find out that Nicholas Devereaux is actually this VERY hot-looking guy I met at my twenty-first birthday party, whom I'd had kind of a crush on (AND STILL DO!) Ever since then, it's been a series of embarrassing royal goof-ups. Viscount Mabrey and his nephew Nicholas have managed to mess things up for me in EVERY single public appearance I've had since I came to live in Genovia full-time._

 _But today was the worst one yet, and this one was, admittedly, just as much my fault as it was theirs. Nicholas grabbed me and started kissing me at the royal garden party today in front of the water fountain, and unfortunately, even though I am engaged now, I allowed the kiss to continue for WAY longer than I should have. Long story short, Nicholas and I eventually ended up falling into the nearby water fountain together. My fiancé, Andrew Jacoby, the Duke of Kenilworth from England, is a sweet, handsome guy and I really like him, but there's just no FIRE with him. No excitement. No sparks. No attraction. No ANYTHING! But with Nicholas, it's the exact opposite. Nicholas has a sense of fun and excitement that Andrew just doesn't have, and when he grabbed me and kissed me all of the sudden at the royal garden party today, all I could think was how much I LOVED that kiss and how much I wanted it to continue. Andrew hasn't even TRIED to kiss me yet. Shouldn't he be showing me some affection? Trying to win my heart? At least Nicholas LETS ME KNOW that he's attracted to me._

 _UGH! What am I saying?! I'm talking about the man WHO'S TRYING TO STEAL MY FAMILY'S CROWN! I KNOW he's probably just manipulating me. It's just so hard to get my mind off him, even though I REALLY want to. It's not that I WANT these embarrassing slip-ups to happen, you know. I DON'T. I don't like Nicholas toying with my emotions the way that he does. I CERTAINLY don't like having the entire palace AND the entire country of Genovia sticking their noses into my personal business all the time, and for the ENTIRE WORLD to see it when I mess everything up. I'm just so confused about what I'm feeling and about what I'm going through right now._

 _To make matters worse, Grandma isn't exactly understanding, and she's CERTAINLY not there for me to help me try to sort all this craziness out. Grandma was FURIOUS about the water fountain incident, and we got mad at each other and had a big fight about it and now she's angry at me, which REALLY hurts. I know that Grandma is a WAY better royal than I could ever hope to be. I am NO Clarisse Renaldi, and I know that. I know I'm not perfect all the time the way she is, and there's no way I ever can be. I am simply too flawed. I know that at least to a certain degree, she will always be at least a little disappointed in me because I can never be as good at this job as she is, and that's a painful thing to live with. Unfortunately, my blood may be royal, but my heart isn't. In my heart, I can't stop being the same simple, ordinary, geeky, clumsy girl Grandma first met five years ago. I just wish sometimes that that simple, ordinary, geeky, clumsy girl could be enough for Grandma and that she could just love me and believe in me anyway, regardless of how imperfect I am in comparison to her. And it would ALSO be nice if we could actually TALK about what's going on inside me like OTHER grandmothers and granddaughters do! Instead, it's just royal duty this and royal duty that. As much as I love her, Grandma can be SO frustrating sometimes!_

After reading that diary entry, it all made a lot more sense to Clarisse… _painful_ sense. Both the grandma _and_ the queen inside Clarisse felt a lot of hurt and sorrow after reading Mia's words. Yes, Mia _had_ made a lot of foolish mistakes and had _not_ been as mature as a person preparing to ascend the throne of a country needed to be at that time. And yes, as Queen, Clarisse had gotten very frustrated with her granddaughter's antics because Mia's mistakes _could_ have cost her the crown, which would have been detrimental to their entire _country._ But Clarisse _also_ knew after reading that diary entry that Mia _did_ have a point. Clarisse had been so wrapped up in being the Queen and in her worries over Viscount Mabrey and Lord Devereaux stealing the throne that she hadn't _really_ been there for her granddaughter through it all as a grandma. She honestly never _once_ stopped to consider the kind of emotional upheaval a young girl like Mia had probably been going through, having an arranged marriage suddenly forced upon her _and_ having a young snake like Nicholas manipulating her emotions in the process. She really _could_ have taken more time to listen to Mia and be there for her and give her _some_ kind of guidance beyond just yelling at her and getting angry at her, but she hadn't. And it was even _more_ painful to read that Mia felt she was "flawed" and that she believed Clarisse thought of her as a disappointment.

Clarisse _knew_ in that moment that she should simply _stop_ what she was doing, close her granddaughter's diary, put it down, and walk out of her suite. The queen in her kept telling her that snooping through her granddaughter's diary was highly inappropriate behavior. But the grandma in her kept wanting to know if feeling flawed was something that Mia really struggled with all the time, or if it had merely been a temporary feeling because of their argument. And again, in the battle of wills between the queen and the grandma, the grandma won. Clarisse turned to a later entry Mia made in her diary about five months ago. It said:

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Today has been UNBELIEVABLE! After I went to see Nicholas at his new house yesterday and found him IN THE ACT WITH ANOTHER WOMAN ON HIS LIVING ROOM COUCH, I honestly didn't see HOW things could get any worse! Well, I was wrong. Things COULD and DID get worse. A LOT WORSE! Nicholas actually DARED to show his face at the palace today, begging my forgiveness, claiming it was just a one-time thing, blah, blah, blah. We ended up getting in a big shouting match over it. I hated to lose my composure and yell, but I was just in so much pain already, and I simply wanted him to leave me ALONE! He kept trying to go on about how his little fling had happened because I hadn't been paying him enough attention and because his other little girlfriend on the side had apparently made him feel more important than I did, and he also kept going on and on about how hard it was to be in the shadow of a queen, and all of that just made me SO MAD. I have ALWAYS paid as much attention to Nicholas as I possibly could, but he needs to realize that I'm not going to have as much time for him as other girlfriends in the past have had. I am running an entire COUNTRY, here! HEL-LO! And even if I HAVEN'T been paying him as much attention as another girlfriend could, that's still no reason to cheat!_

 _AND to make matters even WORSE, after the news of my big fight with Nicholas made its rounds through the palace rumor mill and reached Grandma, SHE had to get in the act and start making me feel bad, too! After my big fight with Nicholas, I had ANOTHER big fight with Grandma. Just like last time with the water fountain incident, she was all mad at me because I "lost it," to use my phrase. She reminded me ONCE AGAIN that being royal means you can't lose it and that we royals are supposed to be the people who find it. YES, I KNOW that being a queen means "I'm held to higher standards of behavior," as Grandma always says. I KNOW I shouldn't have lost my composure today and made a big scene. It's just that I was hurting SO MUCH, and sometimes, it REALLY would be nice if instead of getting all angry at me for failing to live up to her expectations, Grandma could just be the kind of grandma who would provide a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on when I've been hurt._

 _She has NO IDEA what this kind of thing does to my self-esteem. I understand it all now why she and Dad never communicated with me for nearly the first sixteen years of my life, but that doesn't change the fact that that decision had a VERY negative impact on me inside. For nearly SIXTEEN YEARS, I grew up believing that my own father and my own grandparents didn't even care enough about me to pick up a phone and have a mere CONVERSATION with me. Yeah, Dad paid for my school tuition and he sent me a birthday present every year, but I had no way of knowing all my life if he REALLY did those things because he loved me or if it was only because he felt obligated to. Growing up without ever ONCE hearing from my own father made me believe that if MY OWN DAD could reject me and refuse to be in my life like that, I must really be worthless. Growing up taking all the verbal and emotional abuse I took from all the other kids in school only reinforced that. And growing up thinking that you're worthless for ALMOST SIXTEEN YEARS is a VERY hard thing to overcome. When things like this happen – when the boyfriend I HAD THOUGHT really loved me cheats on me, and when my grandma puts me down for my mistakes on top of THAT – it just makes me feel so worthless and flawed all over again. I have to work SO HARD for self-confidence. Would it really KILL Grandma to actually do things to HELP me with that? Would it KILL HER to tell me she's proud of me when I do something good? Would it KILL HER to actually look me in the eye and tell me that she loves me?_

The first diary entry Clarisse read was stinging and painful, but this one was nothing short of _heartbreaking._ Once again, Clarisse came to the bitterly painful realization that she had spent far too much time looking at hers and Mia's lives through the eyes of the Queen and not nearly enough time looking at their lives through the eyes of Grandma. She'd been so busy being the Queen that as Grandma, she honestly hadn't even _once_ thought about _Mia's_ perspective the way she should have. Of course deep down, Clarisse _had_ always known that she'd never _really_ addressed this issue between Mia and herself the way she should have a _long_ time ago. It had just always hurt so badly never being able to be in Mia's life as she was growing up that she never allowed herself to think about it too much, and when they finally were reunited, Clarisse believed that there was no reason to talk about it since Mia now knew the truth. She'd believed that Mia learning the reason for their absence throughout her childhood had magically made everything okay. Clarisse was now ashamed to realize that she'd never _once_ taken the time to _really_ think about the kind of damaging psychological impact something like that would have had on Mia. She was even _more_ ashamed to realize just how right Mia was: Clarisse had _always_ known that her granddaughter struggled with a low self-esteem, but as a grandma, she really hadn't done anything to _help_ her with that. She'd just put all the expectations of an entire country on her shoulders and spent most of the time dealing with Mia as the Queen and not as Grandma. To say the least, reading that mind-blowing, eye-opening diary entry was quite a blow to Clarisse. In that moment, she vowed to herself that things between her and her granddaughter _would change_ and that from now on, she _would_ be the supportive kind of grandma Mia really needed. And above all else, _she would_ help her granddaughter to _finally_ see that she was _not_ flawed.

Once again, the queen and the grandma battled it out, and even though the grandma side of Clarisse knew that she really should stop reading now, she was anxious to see how Mia was doing inside. She was anxious to find out if Mia was doing any better inside at all since the last entry she just read, so she turned to one of Mia's more recent entries. It said:

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Since I first decided to agree to an arranged marriage and become Queen all those months ago, it has been a crazy, wild, insane journey, and it just keeps getting crazier and crazier. I got some life-changing news today. For over the past year, I've had this weird bleeding that literally never shuts off. I am literally bleeding around-the-clock and I have been for ages. Nobody knows about it except my assistant Marjorie, and I never would have told her except for the fact that a queen can hardly drive into a nearby store and buy tampons for herself. I obviously couldn't tell just anybody on the palace staff that I need a constant supply of tampons because if I were to tell the wrong person, the entire palace would know my personal business in no time! Thankfully, Marjorie has always taken care of this issue for me AND she has always kept her mouth shut. Anyway, after a lot of sweet nagging from Marjorie, I finally talked to Dr. Hart about it after Grandma and Grandpa were done with their appointment with her the other day, and she ran a bunch of tests. As it turns out, I actually have uterine cancer. Yep. That's right. Cancer. The Big "C." CANCER! To say the VERY least, I am still in COMPLETE AND TOTAL SHOCK._

 _Dr. Hart did an MRI and CT scan of my uterus and she told me afterwards that she performed the scans because uterine cancer sometimes shows up on scans when it's in the later stages. My scans didn't show anything, so Dr. Hart believes my cancer is still in the early stages, even though she can't say for certain. She won't know more about how advanced my cancer is until she performs – get this – a hysterectomy. As if the news couldn't get ANY worse! She says that in order to treat my cancer, basically, I have to have a hysterectomy. Only AFTER she performs it will she be able to tell for certain what stage my cancer is at and if I'll need other treatment after surgery, like radiation or something. She doesn't think it's very likely that I'll need chemo, but even THAT is also a possibility. YIKES! I know Dr. Hart said it wasn't LIKELY that I would need chemotherapy, but still, the fact that it's even POSSIBLE that I will TOTALLY freaks me out! I keep thinking about all the people I've seen with cancer who have bald heads and I keep wondering, "Is that going to be me now? Am I going to be one of those people who's always throwing up and bald? Am I going to be all sick and in pain and dying in a hospital bed eventually because of this?" Dying. DYING! Cancer. Hysterectomy. Chemotherapy. Radiation. CANCER! Those words just keep repeating themselves over and over again in my mind. I know, I know. I need to get a-hold of myself and just chill. I know freaking out and panicking won't do me any good, but it is SO hard not to!_

 _And the hardest part is not knowing how to deal with all of this as a queen. I am the leader of an entire COUNTRY now. As terrified as I am, I cannot just think about myself. I have to think about Genovia. I also have to think about my grandparents. I am DEFINITELY putting off talking to them about this for as long as I possibly can. They're going through enough with their pregnancy already. They do NOT need to know that I have cancer. And as Queen, I have other big worries, like what do I do about a royal heir? I am the ONLY grandchild of King Rupert and Queen Clarisse. After me, there is literally NO ONE ELSE who can continue the royal Renaldi line. If I were just a regular woman, I guess I could go ahead and get the hysterectomy and adopt children later on in my life – even though the thought of never being able to carry my own baby really does break my heart. However, speaking as the Queen of Genovia, an adopted child cannot legally inherit the throne. If I'm going to keep our family's royal legacy going for another generation and keep the crown in our family, then I have to get pregnant and have a biological child. Kind of hard to do that after a hysterectomy! ARGH! THIS IS SUCH A MESS! THIS IS SO CONFUSING! What do I do?_

Clarisse Renaldi was always a very tough lady, but when she read _that_ entry in Mia's diary just now, she was in tears. She was both scared down to the bone _and_ completely devastated. Cancer. _Cancer!_ Her little granddaughter had just been diagnosed with _cancer!_ This time, not even the queen in her objected when she turned the page to read Mia's most recent diary entry:

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Well, I'm making A LITTLE more headway into dealing with this UNBELIEVABLE MESS I'm in. I've spoken with Dr. Hart again and while she's made it quite clear that she does NOT agree with my decision, she's put me on a kind of medication called progestin, which is made from the female hormone progesterone, in the hopes that it will keep my cancer from progressing while I attempt to get pregnant. Yep. That's right. Pregnant! I'm going to see one of the most renowned fertility specialists in the WORLD, Dr. Daniel Hughes, who works in a clinic in Switzerland, and I'm going to talk to him about getting pregnant as soon as possible. Pregnant! It's nuts, but in order to keep the crown in my family, it looks like I have little choice now but to get pregnant just as soon as I can. Obviously, time is of the essence because of my cancer. I have to get pregnant and pop out a royal heir as quickly as I can before my cancer gets any worse._

 _Arranged marriages. Royal engagements. And now, sudden pregnancies with a sperm donor involving artificial insemination, possible in vitro fertilization cycles and Lord knows what else. Being a queen REALLY wreaks havoc on a girl's personal life and decisions! I always thought I would be the person to make these kinds of decisions when I was growing up, but being a Genovian royal means that my POSITION is making these choices for me. It is truly insane._

 _However, I don't regret my recent decision to try and get pregnant ASAP. I understand how important this is to my family, and to Genovia, and I can't – I WON'T – let them down. I won't let uterine cancer get in the way of me fulfilling my duties as Queen, or as a daughter and granddaughter. I WILL keep our family's legacy going. I won't fail Dad, and I WILL NOT fail Grandma. I know they're depending on me. I may make some embarrassing mistakes sometimes and I may have my flaws as a royal, but I WILL do right by the people I love._

 _I'm scared, though. I am SO scared. What if my cancer prevents me from getting pregnant at all, despite all the extra help I'll be getting from fertility specialists like Dr. Hughes? And the biggie, what if after my child is born, I find that my cancer has gotten WAY worse? How will I take care of a child AND a country then? And then let's not forget the REAL biggie: WHAT IF I DIE? What if my cancer ends up killing me before my future child is grown and can ascend the throne? What'll happen to my child? To my country?_

 _I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that I AM Clarisse Renaldi's granddaughter. This is a woman who courageously kept going and kept running her country single-handedly even AFTER she went through the loss of a child. She is the toughest, strongest woman I have EVER known, and I just have to remember that I have HER blood running through my veins. Jesus wouldn't have put me on the throne of Genovia if He didn't think I could be as tough as she is. I know that. I can do this. I just have to keep telling that to myself whenever I start to freak out. I can do this. I can do this. I CAN do this, and I WILL do this._

Joseph did some investigating for the next half hour or so and he found out some relevant, interesting information. He eventually cajoled it out of Marjorie about Mia's doctor visits with Dr. Hart and her scans at the hospital, as well as the fact that Mia had had her do research on fertility specialists and that for some unknown reason, she was going to see one in Switzerland. After he found out about all that from Marjorie, he went upstairs to his and Clarisse's suite – where he found her sitting on the couch, in tears, holding Mia's diary.

"Clarisse, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, and he was even _more_ worried when he saw that Clarisse was so upset, she couldn't even answer him. She simply handed him Mia's diary. Under normal circumstances, of course, Joseph would never read about Mia's most private thoughts, but in order to get to the bottom of whatever it was that had Clarisse so upset, he knew he didn't have any choice.

"Oh, dear Lord," he gasped a few moments later. " _Cancer._ "

"And that's not all," Clarisse finally said when she noticed that he still hadn't ready Mia's latest entry. "Read the last one."

After Joseph read the last entry, everything fell right into place and made perfect sense. "So _that's_ why she's going to Switzerland," he said quietly.

"Oh Joseph, we have to stop her. We can't let her go through with this. We can't let her put the hysterectomy off. We have to get this cancer out of her _now!_ "

Joseph put his arm around Clarisse's shoulders then, kissed her, and held her close. Then he said, "I know, sweetheart. I know. I know we do. Don't worry. Don't worry. We'll talk to her. _I'll_ talk to her. I'll get her to see reason. I'll get through to her. I promise. It'll be okay. We'll get her through this."

"I don't think I've ever been this scared before in my entire life. _I'll die_ if anything happens to our little girl, Joseph," Clarisse said just before she broke down into sobs.

"Shh," he whispered lovingly, and then he began to rock her. "Shh. It's okay, my love. It's going to be okay. Shh." Joseph tried his best to comfort his wife, but he wasn't sure if he was being very helpful or not because truly, he was every bit as scared as Clarisse was.


	8. A Letter to Mia

**Chapter 8: A Letter to Mia**

While Mia was still stuck in meetings throughout the rest of the day, Clarisse and Joseph thought about the situation and talked about it with each other, and in the end, Clarisse decided that it would be easier for her to simply get all her thoughts written out on paper rather than trying to express them in an emotional discussion, and Joseph agreed. She spent the better part of that day sitting at her desk in her suite with pen and paper, telling her granddaughter everything in her heart she wanted to say in a letter to her. When one of the guards informed Joseph that evening that Mia had just gotten out of her last meeting and was eating dinner in the kitchen, he took Clarisse's letter, kissed his sleeping wife on the cheek, and went downstairs.

"Hi, Grandpa," she told him when he came in.

"Hello, my dear," he said kindly, and then he sat down next to her at the table.

"Do you want to get something to eat? The chef's done his usual delicious work."

"In a little while. Right now, I just wanted to have a little talk with you."

"Okay. What's up?"

"Sweetheart, I know that you and your grandma have problems sometimes. I know that she was raised here in Genovia, and you were raised in America, and that having such different cultural backgrounds can sometimes make things difficult. It's not as easy for her to express her emotions, her love, as it is for you. She's never specifically _told_ you that she loves you even though I know you need to hear her say the words sometimes, but _she does_ , Mia. _She does._ You are dearer to your grandmother than the air she breathes, and speaking as a _very_ proud grandpa, I feel the same way. We love you more than anything in this world. And we are both _so_ proud of you."

Hearing Joe say that really made Mia's face light up in that moment as she smiled and said, "Thank you. Thank you so much for saying that, Grandpa. That really means a lot, especially now."

"I have a letter here," he said as he handed it to her. "It's from your grandma. We need you to read it as soon as possible, and then we need to talk to you. It's important."

"Oh. Okay, Grandpa. I'll read it as soon as I'm finished with dinner."

"Thank you," Joseph said, and then he went back upstairs.

After Mia was done eating, she went up to her suite and sat down at her desk and started reading her grandma's letter. It said:

 _My darling,_

 _I should start off by saying that I owe you an apology – a big apology. I found your diary open in your suite this morning when I came in to return the earrings I borrowed, and I saw a phrase of one of your entries that caught my eye. I know I shouldn't have done what I did. I know what a terrible invasion of your privacy this was, but what you said raised my curiosity so much, I couldn't resist the temptation to read it. I ended up reading several other entries after that – entries that you wrote after we'd had arguments. Again, I sincerely apologize for such an intrusion of your privacy._

 _Reading what you had to say about me was painful. However, even though it hurt, and even though it was an invasion of your privacy that I regret, I am actually glad I read those entries. I'm glad I know what I know. As a grandma, it has given me valuable insight into your perspective. There are a lot of things about our relationship and about you that until this morning, I had been completely unaware of. I know that there are a lot of things that I as a grandma need to change. I know that whenever there's been problems in the past, either personal or political, I haven't really been there for you as a grandma because I've been so busy being a queen instead. I know I haven't been the kind of person you felt you could come and talk to when you had a problem and needed a listening ear. I'm so sorry. There are other things I am very deeply sorry for as well._

 _Never being able to be with you during the first fifteen years of your life broke your father's heart, and it definitely broke mine and your Grandfather Rupert's. I prefer not to talk or even think about this because it's so painful for me, but until I read one of your diary entries today, I never completely understood just how painful our decision was for you growing up. I know you know the truth now. I know you know why we weren't able to be there. However, I do realize that no matter how hard it was for me, I should have talked to you about this. I honestly had no idea that our not being there did so much damage to your self-esteem, although now that I look back, I realize I should have seen that a long time ago. I didn't know that our decision resulted in you growing up feeling that you were flawed, even worthless, and finding out about that today absolutely tore me up. I want you to know that I am so sorry I've done so little as a grandma to help you with that, and I also want you to know that things are going to change between us._

 _I know I never looked at you and said the words, "Mia, I'm proud of you" or "Mia, I love you" before, but that is not because I didn't feel that way. I am immensely proud of you and I love you more than anything in this world. It's just not very easy for me to say those things to the people I love sometimes because expressing emotions, even love and affection for the people dearest to us, was something that was highly frowned upon in the time and culture in which I was raised. I also know, though, that you have needed to hear those words from me for quite some time, and I want you to know how sorry I am that I didn't say those words to you like you needed – and deserved – for me to. For someone who had to become a princess and then a queen practically at the drop of a hat, you have done an amazing job. You are an amazing person, and I am going to keep saying that again and again and again as many times as you need to hear it. Every time I feel little Isaac move and kick within me, I think to myself how deeply I love and cherish him. He is a very cherished little baby, and I want you to know that you are equally cherished. You are not worthless. You are priceless. You are not flawed. You are cherished more than you will ever truly know because words aren't enough to fully express it._

 _That is why I have to ask this favor of you. My love, I know about the cancer. I know you need a hysterectomy, and I also know about your plans to put off the procedure while you attempt to get pregnant. When I found out that you felt more comfortable confiding in your personal assistant about your problem than you did me, it truly broke my heart, and as your grandma, I really want that to change. I want you to come to me and tell me about it if you're having issues with your health. I want to know so I can do everything I can to help you. I also want you to know that while I am extremely proud of you for being willing to put the family and our country before yourself, it would absolutely devastate me if you did. I realize that this decision is yours to make, not mine, but as your grandma, I am BEGGING you to change your mind. The Renaldi royal line means NOTHING to me. YOU mean EVERYTHING. Please, PLEASE forget about trying to produce a royal heir. IT DOESN'T MATTER! We'll fight Mabrey and his minions as long and as hard as we have to in Parliament to get the law changed to allow an adopted child to inherit the throne. I'll help you see to it that Genovia is taken care of and that the crown stays in our family. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT. The only thing – THE ONLY THING – I want you concerning yourself with right now is getting better, nothing else. Please, PLEASE change your mind and get the hysterectomy done NOW. Let's start fighting this cancer NOW and not later. Let's fight this thing TOGETHER, and let's fight it NOW. RIGHT NOW. If you waited to get your cancer treated and it got worse…that would absolutely kill me. Don't do that to me, sweetheart. Please._

 _With all my love,_

 _Grandma_

Everything – _everything_ – Clarisse had said in her letter to Mia was _exactly_ what she had needed to hear. It was everything she had been needing to hear for years. Mia had a good long cry, and then she composed herself, wiped her tears, and ran across the hall to her grandparents' suite. Clarisse had awakened from her nap by then, and she and Joseph were sitting together on the couch when Mia came in. When they saw her, they instantly stood up and pulled their granddaughter into their arms and held onto her for the longest time. They said nothing as they cried together for several long moments.

"It's okay, Grandma," Mia said finally as they were still holding onto her. "It's okay. I'll do it. I'll get the hysterectomy now. I won't try to get pregnant. I won't wait to fight the cancer."

The moment Mia said that, Clarisse planted a firm kiss on her granddaughter's cheek and told her, "Thank you, my darling. Thank you so much. I know in the past, I've paid too much attention to royal duty and not enough attention to you and your needs. But I want you to know, my angel, that _I do not_ care more about your royal position than I care about _you._ You are everything to me. _Everything._ " Mia responded by hugging Clarisse tighter – something she normally would _never_ feel comfortable doing – and Clarisse gave Mia another kiss, this time on the top of her head. "I don't care about our royal bloodline. _I don't._ I just want you to be alright. And I know I never come out and say it to you the way I should, but I do love you _so_ much, and I am _so_ proud of you."

"I know, Grandma. I read everything you said in your letter to me. Thank you so much for all the wonderful things you told me. I really needed to hear that now."

"Things are going to change, sweetheart. I know that because I've been a queen most of my life, I've had these walls built up around my heart, shutting most everyone out, but _I never_ meant to shut _you_ out. I realize that I did now, and I'm so sorry. From now on, we're going to be the kind of grandmother and granddaughter who talk to each other, _really_ talk to each other, about what's going on inside of us, okay?"

"I'd like that," Mia said through her tears.

"And from now on, I want to know about everything – _everything_ – that is going on with your health. I want to know about every runny nose, every fever, every cold, every headache, every stubbed toe," Clarisse said while Mia laughed. "If there's _anything_ going on with your health, I want you to tell me about it. _Is that understood?_ "

"Yes, Grandma."

"And I want it understood from now on that if there's something, _anything_ , going on with your body that you know is not right, _we are not_ going to wait over a year to see a doctor. We are going to go get it checked out right away."

"I actually _did_ see a couple of doctors about it when I was in college. They weren't very helpful. They weren't really able to tell me anything. But then again, they didn't really take me seriously the way Dr. Hart did, either. They kind of brushed me off, I guess because I'm so young, but Dr. Hart just immediately got on the ball and started running all those tests. She was a lot more thorough."

"She's the best gynecologist in Genovia. I've been seeing her for years, and I trust her. I trust her completely. And if she says we have to do the hysterectomy now, then that is _precisely_ what we're going to do. We are going to do _everything_ she tells us we need to do."

"That's right," Joseph concurred. "And whatever you need, _whenever_ you need it, your grandma and I are here. We're right here for you. _You_ _do not_ have to carry this alone. _You are not_ in this alone. We are fighting this cancer _together._ We are getting through this thing _together._ "

"Thank you," Mia said softly.

"I'll speak to Marjorie tomorrow. I'll have her call Dr. Hart and get the hysterectomy scheduled for as soon as possible. In the meantime, I want you to relax and get as much rest as you can. I want you to cancel all your appointments and engagements from now until the day of your surgery. You need to take a break, and you need to focus on taking care of yourself."

"That's sweet of you, Grandma, but it's really not necessary. With the exception of the bleeding, I'm not having any other symptoms. I feel fine."

"No, my dear, I think your grandmother has a point," said Joe. "You have really been going through a lot here lately. You should take some time off for yourself. It really is a good idea for you to relax and take it easy until you have your surgery."

"Okay, you guys. If it'll make you feel better, I'll have Marjorie cancel as many of my meetings and appointments as she can from now until then."

"Good girl," said Clarisse. "We're going to get through this, my love. We are going to get through this."

"That's what I keep trying to tell myself," Mia sighed, and then the threesome sat down on the couch together, Mia in between her grandma and grandpa. "I know how important it is to stay positive in times like these. And I also know that it doesn't do any good to dwell on my problems and my fears, but at the same time, it's hard not to think about all the possibilities and get scared."

"I know, darling," Clarisse said kindly. "I know."

"I keep thinking, 'What if it's in the later stages and it just didn't show up on Dr. Hart's scans?' If it actually _is_ in something like Stage III, I am in _so_ much trouble."

"Let's just cross that bridge when we come to it," Joseph told her. "We just need to take this whole thing one step at a time. Let's just wait and see what Dr. Hart has to say first."

"Exactly," Clarisse agreed. "I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed one of your laptops and started doing research on the Internet while you were in your meetings today."

"No, of course I don't mind," Mia told her, flattered that her grandmother – who _hated_ using more modern technology – would use a computer to go online and do research, something she typically wouldn't be caught dead doing, in order to help her.

"I'm still really confused by all these medical terms they throw out. Can you explain all the different stages of uterine cancer to me while I write all this down?" asked Clarisse as she grabbed a nearby pen and paper.

"Of course. Stage IA means the cancer might have grown into the muscle wall of the uterus, but no more than halfway," Mia explained while Clarisse wrote down every word she was saying. "Stage IB means that the cancer has grown halfway or more into the uterine muscle wall. Stage II means the cancer has grown into the cervix. If the cancer is at Stage III, that means it has spread outside the uterus, but it's still within the pelvis, and there are three categories of Stage III uterine cancer." Mia paused then to give Clarisse time to finish writing everything she just told her. When Clarisse was ready, Mia continued. "Stage IIIA means that the cancer has grown into the outer covering of the uterus or has spread to the ovaries or fallopian tubes." Again, Mia paused for a moment and continued when Clarisse was ready for her to. "Stage IIIB means that the cancer has spread into the vagina or the tissues surrounding the uterus. And Stage IIIC means that the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes." After another pause, Mia continued again. "Stage IVA means that the cancer has spread into the bowel or the bladder. And finally, Stage IVB means that the cancer has spread to lymph nodes farther away from the uterus, or to other body parts like the lungs, liver, bones, etc."

After Clarisse was finished writing everything down, Joseph said, "You have quite a memory."

"I'm like Grandma. I had to write down everything Dr. Hart told me. I've looked at my notes from when I first got my diagnosis and I've been on the Internet researching this so much here lately that I ended up memorizing a lot of facts."

"And Dr. Hart says it's most likely in one of the earlier stages?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah, that's what she thinks, but it is still a small possibility that it could be something like Stage III, which totally freaks me out because if it's past Stage II, then that could mean chemo."

"Well, just remember what Joseph said a minute ago. We have to take this one step at a time. Don't drive yourself crazy thinking about worst case scenarios. Let's just wait until after the hysterectomy and see what Dr. Hart has to say."

"I know; I know."

"Why don't you tell your grandma and me what we can do for you right here, right now, to make this easier for you?" Joseph lovingly suggested.

"Yes," Clarisse agreed. "Tell us how to help you now, sweetheart."

After a pause, Mia asked, "Can you guys tell Mom for me a little later on? And Lilly? They are both going to be really emotional about it when they find out, and I my nerves are just so shot right now that I don't think I'm up to going through all that."

"Of course we can," said Joseph.

"Absolutely," Clarisse agreed.

Mia started to cry again in that moment, and she told them, "I'm sorry. You guys just have to overlook me. My emotions are all over the place right now."

Clarisse and Joseph both put an arm around their granddaughter and held her together, and Clarisse said to her, "Don't worry about a thing, my love. You just have a good cry right now if you need to. We're right here with you."

"Yes, sweetheart, we're right here. We are going to take _such_ good care of you."

Mia smiled through her tears then, looked at her grandparents, and said, "Thanks, you guys. I wanted to do as much of this on my own as I could, but I think I'm beginning to realize that there's just no way I can get through this without you."

"As if we'd ever let you even _try_ to get through this without us," Clarisse told her lovingly.

"Yeah, that's right. You're stuck with us," Joseph kindly teased. "You're stuck with us every step of the way."

"We love you, baby. We love you _so_ much," said Clarisse.

"I love you guys, too."


	9. Feeling Helpless

**Chapter 9: Feeling Helpless**

The next day, a Thursday, Mia woke up to a few pleasant surprises. The first surprise was that her alarm clock had been turned off, allowing her to sleep in that day. The second surprise was breakfast in bed. Shortly after Mia first woke up that morning, her two lady's maids, Brigitte and Brigitta, served her breakfast in bed. When they brought her food to her, Mia tried to protest and tell them that it wasn't necessary, but they told her that she was under strict orders from Queen Clarisse to relax, eat her breakfast in bed, and enjoy it, which made Mia smile. The third surprise was that Marjorie, again under the strict orders of Queen Clarisse, had called and canceled _all_ of Mia's appointments – absolutely everything – for the next three weeks. Mia's time was now strictly her own and would be for a while yet.

After Mia finished eating and showered and dressed, she went to her grandparents' suite to thank her grandma for everything she'd done. Mia was then surprised to learn just how much _more_ her grandmother had accomplished that morning.

"I've spoken with Dr. Hart, and she's scheduled your hysterectomy for eight o'clock Monday morning," Clarisse explained. "She also says that you're not to have anything to eat or drink for at least eight hours before the surgery, so just to be safe, I've informed the chef that you'll be having an early dinner Sunday night, and it's scheduled for five o'clock. And she says that it can take anywhere from two to eight weeks to recover from a hysterectomy, and since we don't know yet how long you'll need to be in the hospital after surgery, I went ahead and told Marjorie to cancel everything for the next three weeks. We'll cancel more things after that if you need more time off."

Mia laughed at what a fuss her grandma was making, and she told her, "Grandma, it's okay. Just relax. I'm an adult now. I can take care of all these things myself. It really helps having your support through all of this, but you don't have to do everything for me. I _can_ do a few things on my own, you know."

"I know, darling. I know. Despite the fact that my faith in the Lord has been badly shaken ever since I lost your father, I still believe in Christ, and I still believe in the power of prayer, and I have been praying so hard since I first found out about this. But more than anything else, I'm a person of _action._ I'm not a thinker; I'm a _doer._ I like to take action, and I like to be in control. And for somebody like me, the hardest part of all of this is the fact that I feel so _helpless. It drives me crazy_ that there is nothing that _I_ personally can _do_ to get this cancer out of you. I keep finding myself wishing that your cancer were a person so I could just reach out and pull him away from you and beat him up for _daring_ to attack you! Since I can't do that, I need to help you in other ways. I need to do things to take care of you. I need to feel like I am _doing_ something about this."

"Oh Grandma, you're so wonderful," Mia said, and then she gave Clarisse a big hug – who, this time, was not uncomfortable receiving it and in fact was _glad_ to return it. "Just don't get too wrapped up in this whole cancer thing. _You_ need to be getting plenty of rest and taking it easy too. Don't forget about little Isaac," she told Clarisse as she patted her now visibly round stomach.

But in that instant, the emotional impact of her upcoming hysterectomy _really_ began to hit her: this was _never_ going to happen for her. She was _never_ going to get morning sickness or strange food cravings or feel her own baby kick and move around inside her. She was never going to give birth and she was _never_ going to hold her own baby in her arms like she'd always dreamed of and believed she would be doing one day. Mia then took her hand away from Clarisse's stomach and turned away.

"Mia, what is it? What's wrong?"

Mia fought off tears and shook her head and replied, "N-nothing, Grandma. Nothing. I'm fine."

In that moment, Clarisse instinctively sensed it. "Seeing me upsets you."

"It's not _you_ , Grandma. It doesn't have anything to do with _you_ personally. It's…just hard, seeing you all pregnant and everything and realizing that that's something that's never going to happen for me."

"Oh sweetheart, _it is_ happening for you. It's happening for you right now. Maybe you can't carry a baby of your own like I'm carrying Isaac, but I want you to know that Isaac is just as much _your_ baby as he is Joseph's and mine. _You_ are becoming a parent right along with us."

"Really? You would do that? You guys would actually share your son with me?"

Clarisse laughed and said, "That's what families do, silly girl! _Families share._ So whenever you start to feel sad about your hysterectomy and get to thinking about how you'll never get to go through a pregnancy, you just remember that even though it's not happening the way _any_ of us planned, _you are still_ getting a son. _You_ are becoming a mommy right along with me."

Tears came to Mia's eyes then as she threw her arms around Clarisse and gave her another big hug, which again, Clarisse _did not_ mind returning. When the hug ended a few moments later, Mia told Clarisse, "You are the most incredible grandma _ever!_ "

"And she's the most _sensible_ grandma ever, too," said Joseph as he came walking closer towards them. He'd actually come into the suite shortly after Mia did, but Clarisse and Mia had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't seen him. "It's very smart of her to get you to agree to co-parent this baby with us. _We need_ somebody young like you to help us keep up with this kid. There's no way a couple of old-timers like your grandma and me can do this all by ourselves."

Mia laughed through her tears, and then she stuck out her hand for Joseph to shake and she said, "Consider me an enlisted co-parent."

Joseph shook her hand then, and a second later, he kissed her cheek. Then he became more serious for a moment as he told Mia, "You should know that Clarisse and I talked to both your mother and to Lilly on the phone last night after you left our suite. They know everything now."

Mia nodded and said, "Thank you for telling them."

"Of course," Clarisse said kindly.

"How'd they take it?"

"Well, I spoke to your mother and Joseph talked to Lilly. Your mother was very upset at first. She was very, very worried about you, especially when I told her about how you had originally planned to postpone the hysterectomy in order to try and get pregnant and have a biological child of your own for the sake of our family's crown. When I told her that you changed your mind last night, she calmed down." In reality, Clarisse was actually downplaying it because she didn't want Mia to worry about her mother too much. Helen had actually been every bit as shocked, devastated, and terrified as Clarisse had been when she first found out.

"Good," said Mia.

"Lilly got angry," Joseph said, and Mia actually laughed a little bit.

"Knowing Lilly, I'm not one bit surprised."

"When we got to talking about everything that had been going on around here lately and she heard that you'd been thinking of postponing your surgery in order to get pregnant for the sake of the crown and Genovia, she went through the roof. She was _furious_ that Genovian law doesn't allow an adopted child to inherit the throne. She said to tell you, and I quote: 'If I have to spend the next two decades of my life working as an activist in Genovia to get the dumb royal succession laws changed, I will. And if you even _think_ of not fighting this cancer _now_ , I will personally beat your rear!' She even made me write that down word for word so I wouldn't forget." When Joe told Mia that, she laughed out loud.

"I love Lilly so much," Mia said.

"Yes, Lilly's a wonderful best friend to have," Clarisse agreed.

"Thank you both _so much_ for telling them for me. That made things a lot easier."

"That's what grandparents are for, my love," Joseph said softly.

"Okay guys, I'm going to go back to my suite and give Mom and Lilly a call now."

"Tell them we say hi," Clarisse said as Mia walked out.

"I will," she responded, and then she left.

Throughout the rest of that morning and afternoon, Mia really was deeply touched by the outpouring of support from everyone else in the palace. When Clarisse began making arrangements for Mia's hysterectomy earlier and had Marjorie cancel all of Mia's engagements for the next three weeks, people began overhearing bits and pieces of conversations and it wasn't too long until everyone pieced together the truth. It really had been quite a miracle that Mia had managed to keep this kind of news private for as long as she did. Brigitte and Brigitta, who were a couple of very sweet young girls serving as Mia's lady's maids ever since she first moved to Genovia, were especially torn up at the news that their young Queen did in fact have cancer, and Mia spent the better part of that afternoon consoling them. Mia and Clarisse also had a long talk with the royal press secretary about the situation and they all decided it was better to go ahead and tell the press about everything the next morning. Mia was especially grateful that she was getting to inform the press about her health issues on _her_ terms rather than her private business being broken to the media by surprise.

All through that morning, Mia was on the phone with her mother first, and then with Lilly, and their love and support was incredibly helpful. For most of that afternoon, she was busy trying to calm Brigitte and Brigitta down and reassure them that she would be okay, and then she ended up taking a nice, long, relaxing stroll through the palace garden with Andrew, who had also heard the news by then. Like everyone else, he too was very upset by the news, and very worried about Mia, and he was also a wonderful friend and source of support for her. He ended up giving her a great big hug and telling her, "You're going to get through this, Mia. You're not alone. You're going to be alright," which again, was very helpful.

That evening, Mia sat at the same spot she had a couple of days before, underneath Genovia's most famous pear tree, with her sketchbook and colored pencils, and she sketched another picture of the landscape surrounding her. A few minutes after she started her sketch, Joseph came and sat down next to her.

"How are you doing, love?" he asked her warmly.

Mia put down her sketchbook and colored pencil for a second and answered, "I'm okay, Grandpa. Thanks for asking. How are you doing this evening? How's Grandma feeling?"

"I'm alright, and your grandma is officially in Battle Mode. She has been all day."

"Uh oh. What's going on?"

"She borrowed one of your laptops again after she woke up from her nap this afternoon and she's doing all kinds of research on how to help and support someone with cancer."

"Aw. That's so sweet. But I'll go upstairs and talk to her. We don't want her to dwell on this thing too much, after all."

"No, dear, I think it's best right now if you and I just leave her alone and let her do what she feels she needs to do. You know how your grandma is. You know how important it is to her for her to feel like she's doing something about this cancer. And frankly, as a grandpa, it's equally important for _me_ to feel like _I'm_ doing something about it, too."

"You guys are the best, and you _have_ been doing something about it. You've been there for me through all of this, right from the get-go."

"I just wish you had told me. I wish your grandma and I hadn't found out what was going on by snooping through your diary. I wish you and I could have talked about this cancer just like we talk about everything else."

Mia smiled. "It's true. You always have been my confidant. I have _always_ been able to talk to you about anything and everything."

"Well I want you to talk to me now."

"It's okay, Grandpa. I don't really need to talk about it right now. I've been talking about it all day with Grandma and Mom and Lilly and Brigitte and Brigitta and Andrew. Right now, I just need to get my mind off it and sketch, if you don't mind."

"Of course. I'm sorry. You're right. You are absolutely right. It is better not to think about it too much right now."

"I will tell you this, though. Having you around makes it a whole lot easier because I know that if the worst should happen to me in the end, you'll make sure Grandma gets through it okay."

"Hey–hey–hey– _hey! We are not going there._ We are not _ever_ going there. We are not _ever_ having that conversation. You are _never_ saying _anything_ like that to me again and if you do, as your grandpa, _I will_ embarrass the living daylights out of you by putting you over my knee and spanking you in front of Genovia's entire government!" Mia laughed when Joseph made that joke. "I'll spank you in front of Prime Minister Motaz. I'll spank you in front of Charlotte. I'll spank you in front of _all_ of Parliament, no matter _how_ embarrassing it gets for you, and then I'll let your grandma spank you in front of the entire country of Genovia! I'll call up Elsie Kentworthy and have her televise it for the whole nation to see!" Again, Mia laughed.

"You guys can't spank me now. I'm a grown adult woman. Neener-neener-neener!" she kidded.

"Oh, grandparents can _always_ spank their grandchild no matter _how_ old she gets. That's a grandparent's right and privilege."

"Is it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Aw, shucks!" Mia joked as she snapped her fingers, and Joseph laughed. Then he got serious again.

"You're going to be alright, sweetheart. No matter what happens, no matter what stage this cancer is in, _you will_ be alright."

"I know I will. I know. I just wish this whole surgery was behind me. I don't _want_ to have to have this hysterectomy, but at the same time, since I _do_ have to have it, I just want to get it over with, find out how bad my cancer is, and just move on, you know? I just wish it was Monday already."

"I know, my dear. I know. Just hang in there. This will all be behind you before you know it."

"I know it will be."

"And I just want you to know I am _so_ proud of you for the way you have handled all this. You have handled this whole terrible situation with just as much strength, dignity, courage, and grace as your grandmother would have in your position – not that that _surprises_ me at all, of course. You have always been strong. You had to go from being an ordinary girl to being a royal princess after only a few weeks of etiquette lessons, and then you had to go from being a princess to a queen and ruler of an entire nation in just thirty days, and there are not too many people in this world who could pull something like that off, _but you did._ And since then, you have grown and matured _so_ much."

"Suddenly becoming the ruler of an entire country within a span of just thirty days does that to you."

"Yes, it does. I'm just so sorry it all had to happen like that. The entire thing was horribly unfair to you. You should have been allowed a lot more time to learn at your grandmother's side and gain some more life experience first before having to ascend the throne. The whole thing was just a nasty, dirty trick Mabrey got some of his supporters in Parliament to pull on you because he believed that since you were clumsy and hadn't been raised as a royal and were an American, you couldn't pull it off. I always knew that you could, though, and the day that you defeated him and ascended the throne was the proudest day of your grandpa's life."

"If it weren't for you, Grandpa, always being there, always believing in me even when I made my biggest royal goof-ups, I don't know what I would have done. Even when I did my worst, dumbest things, you never questioned whether or not I had the makings of a queen. You never, _ever_ stopped believing in me, loving me, or supporting me. Your steady, ongoing belief in me made it easier for me to believe in myself, which as you know, is something I've always really struggled with."

"I know sometimes your grandmother gave the impression that she stopped believing in you, and I know that was hurtful, but she never meant to do that. She does love you, and she _does_ believe in you, and those things _never_ change, even though I know she has sometimes made you feel differently. I know how hard it was for you when you first came back to Genovia, and I know what you were going through being forced into an arranged marriage like you were, not to mention having Nicholas Deverat trying to mess with your head all the time, and I also know it has never been as easy for you to really talk to Clarisse about what you're going through as it has been for you to talk to me."

"That's because even when I mess up – even when I make a _big_ mistake – _you listen_ , you're not judgmental about it, and you don't get angry at me for messing up. As deeply as I love and respect Grandma, I haven't always been able to say that about her. However, now that I've been a queen myself for a little while, I am also beginning to understand her perspective a little better. I know now the kind of pressure she was always under, trying to make sure that no matter what, Genovia would always be taken care of. And I know that when I made my stupid mistakes, it could have resulted in Nicholas Deverat getting the crown, which I now know would have been bad news for our entire country. I really do hate it that I wasn't more mature when I first came to Genovia and that I _added_ to Grandma's worries rather than easing her burdens. That's why I wanted to put off telling her about my cancer for as long as possible. She's gone through so much all her life already with being a queen, and now she's going through this pregnancy. I didn't want her worrying about me too. I didn't want to make her life even _more_ difficult for her, like I did when I first came here."

"Like I said, the whole stunt Mabrey and his minions pulled in Parliament with the whole arranged marriage and the thirty-day deadline was extremely unfair to you. Had you been able to wait long enough to grow a little older first and had you been able to take more time to learn everything you needed to learn from your grandmother, things wouldn't have been like that. You don't have to blame yourself for having been a typical twenty-one-year-old, fresh out of college and new to life in the real world. You don't have to beat yourself up for that.

"As for the cancer, I realize you think you were making the right decision not talking to us about it when you first found out. I know you think you were protecting your grandma, but finding out about it in your diary like she did and learning that you felt more comfortable confiding in Marjorie about your health issues than you did her really broke her heart. She loves you _so_ much, and it's very important to her to be there for you now. You don't have to protect her. Protecting her, and protecting you, is _my_ job."

"Thank you, Grandpa," Mia said with a smile, and then she gave Joseph a hug.

A little while later, Mia went upstairs to spend a little more time with her grandma. Mia hated finding out that Clarisse was _still_ on the Internet doing research at her desk. Mia walked up to her grandma then, bent down close to her right ear, and quietly told her, "If you keep staring at that computer screen for too much longer, you'll go cross-eyed, and your eyes will stay stuck like that every day for the rest of your life."

Mia was happy to see Clarisse smile in that next moment, and then she turned away from the computer screen, took off her glasses, and said, "And what all have _you_ been up to today?"

"Well for me, it's been a combination of things: talking to my mom, talking to Lilly, consoling my lady's maids, hanging out with Andrew, and doing a sketch of the garden. And I hear from Grandpa that _you_ have been in Battle Mode at the computer screen all day today." Mia then started massaging Clarisse's shoulders, which got a laugh out of Clarisse. "You need to take a break from all this cancer business, Grandma. You need to relax and think about happier things for a while, like Isaac. Grandpa has gotten his crib all set up now, but you need to think about more decorating decisions for the nursery part of your suite. And I've been thinking that maybe I ought to have a special crib set up for him in my suite, too. I'm sure you guys will have nights where you'll want me to take care of him for you so you can both get some sleep, and I wouldn't be a very good co-parent if I didn't have a place for our baby in my room, too."

Clarisse smiled again and said, "I think that's a lovely idea, darling. You're Isaac's mommy too, so it's only right that you should have a crib for your baby in your own suite." Hearing Clarisse say once again that she was Isaac's mommy too, and hearing her call Isaac her baby, meant a very great deal to Mia. "And anyway, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine."

"I know how important it is to you to feel like you're doing something about my cancer, Grandma, but you can't dwell on this all the time. It's not healthy. You need to think about something else for a little while."

After Clarisse got up from her seat, she said once again, " _You do not_ have to worry about _me_ right now, Mia. You worry about me too much already." They walked over to the couch and sat down together then after Clarisse said that.

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"I know I shouldn't have read your diary. I know what an invasion of your privacy it was, but reading about your cancer…then reading about how you wanted to delay treatment at first because you were afraid of letting me down…you just don't know what that did to me."

" _The last thing_ I meant to do was upset you, Grandma."

"I know that, my love. I know that. But it's got me to thinking about other things, and I'm worried about something."

"What are you worried about?"

"If you would _risk your life_ for my sake, to keep our royal bloodline going and produce a royal heir…to do what you thought would make me happy and make me proud of you…would you agree to marry a man you didn't love for my sake too? Agree to rule a country for my sake, even if it wasn't truly what you wanted to do with your own life?"

Mia let out a sigh then, and after a long pause, she finally answered, "Okay, Grandma, I'm not going to lie. You are my hero. You have been for quite a long time now, and a person would do a lot of things for her hero. You are not _entirely_ the reason why I agreed to get engaged to Andrew and become Queen of Genovia, but you are a _part_ of the reason. I mostly did it because I believe with all my heart it's what the Lord has called me to do with my life. And besides, _I want_ to take good care of Genovia. I love Genovia. _I want_ to spend my life using my position to make a real, lasting difference in the world. However, I was also a little afraid that if I said no, I would be failing you and that you would be hurt and disappointed in me. I was kind of afraid that you would feel I was letting you down if I didn't go through with it, and I couldn't bear the thought of that. I love you _so_ much. I would do anything for you."

Tears came to Clarisse's eyes in that moment as she hugged her granddaughter. " _You do not_ have to get engaged to someone you're not in love with, and you _certainly_ don't have to rule an entire country, to make me proud of you, baby. I love you for _you_ , Mia. Not your royal position. Had you told me that day in the throne room that you didn't want to agree to an arranged marriage and become Queen, _I would not_ have looked down on you or had any bad feelings for you, honey. _You do not_ have to do such big things in order to please me or make me proud of you. _I have always been proud of you_ , not because you decided in the end to live the life of a Genovian royal, but because of _who you are._ I love _everything_ about you, Mia. _Everything._ I love your humor and your playfulness and your cheerfulness. I love your sweet, loving, gentle, sensitive spirit. I love your laugh. I love your face. I love your smile. I love your tenderness. _I love you._ "

Mia began to cry then too as she continued to hold onto Clarisse, and she told her, "I love you too, Grandma. Thank you _so much_ for telling me all that."

Clarisse kissed Mia's cheek in that moment and said to her, "It's true, Mia. It's true. I'm just so sorry you didn't know that until just now. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's okay," Mia said after they let go. " _Will you please_ stop worrying about me so much? I really am okay. I don't have any regrets at all about becoming a princess or a queen. It's a pretty demanding job and it can get pretty tough sometimes, but I don't regret ascending the throne, nor do I regret getting engaged to Andrew. I regret the dumb way I acted _after_ getting engaged to him, but I don't regret the engagement, itself. I don't regret doing what I had to do to become Queen."

Clarisse dabbed her eyes with a tissue and then said, "Oh, just look at me. _You're_ the one who's ill right now and yet _you're_ the one consoling _me._ "

"Grandma, you _really_ don't have to worry about me."

"Grandparents _always_ worry about their grandchildren just as parents always worry about their children. You'll learn that soon enough when Isaac comes along."

"I'm really sorry you're going through so much with all of this. I'm beginning to think that maybe this whole thing is even harder on you than it has been on me."

"The hardest thing for me, like I told you before, is how helpless I feel. Whenever Pierre or your father caught the flu or had a cold or a bruise or a bump or a scrape, I could always do things to make it better. I could kiss away the pain. I could put them to bed and bring them plenty of fluids and keep their fever under control with medicine. I could put a bandage over their skinned knees. But now, there is nothing, _nothing_ , I can do to make this better."

"You've been there for me. You have made me feel _so_ loved and so special. You've helped me see just how important I am to you. _And_ , it _is_ because of _your letter_ that I agreed to get the hysterectomy done now and not later. Maybe you can't cure my cancer like you've helped to cure colds and skinned knees in the past, but still, over these past couple of days, what you have done for me has been _so_ important, and I am more grateful to you than I can really tell you. You have helped me _so_ much more than you're giving yourself credit for. And I know that because I have you and Grandpa here with me, _I will_ get through all of this, no matter what happens."

Again, Clarisse gave Mia a big hug, and she told her, "Thank you for that. Thank you so much."

"It's true. It's going to be okay, Grandma."

"I know it is, darling. I know it is. _Oh,_ you are _such_ a wonderful granddaughter," Clarisse whispered in Mia's ear, and then she didn't hesitate to give her another kiss on the cheek.

As Clarisse continued to hold Mia close in those moments, she realized what a great feeling it was to have her little granddaughter in her arms like that, and she made up her mind that from now on, she was _definitely_ going to hug and love on Mia _a lot_ more often.


	10. Hysterectomy

**Note to readers** : Because of an unexpected situation that has come up, unfortunately, I won't be able to update _Cherished_ from May 25-June 3. I sincerely apologize, but it's something that can't be helped. However, I will try to get as much work completed and posted as I can from now until then. And as always, thanks to everyone who is reading and supporting _Cherished_. It is always appreciated! :)

 **Chapter 10: Hysterectomy**

That Friday evening, after the story of Mia's cancer and upcoming hysterectomy had officially been broken to the press earlier that day, Viscount Mabrey wasted no time whatsoever in going straight to the cameras so that he could bash Mia.

"An American has no place on the throne of Genovia!" he railed. "How would America like it if I, a true, lifelong Genovian, someone with no ties to America whatsoever, were suddenly made their president? Therefore, _it is absolutely ridiculous_ that this _American commoner_ , this silly, inept, clumsy, uncivilized, and soon-to-be _sterile_ young woman is now sitting on the Genovian throne as Queen! She has been holding up procedures in Parliament for months to try to get her unnecessary legislation passed! She cannot even hold a fork at a royal dinner without clumsily dropping it and making herself – as well as _all_ of Genovia – look stupid in front of diplomats from around the world! And now, we find that after Monday, she will not even be able to provide Genovia with a royal heir, which is a queen's most important, most _sacred_ , duty to her country! Ladies and gentlemen of the press…ladies and gentlemen of the Genovian Parliament…citizens of Genovia…it is time, high time, that we do something about this. Our Queen is the biggest failure of a sovereign our country has _ever_ had, and this cannot – this _must not_ – continue!"

In that moment, someone from behind Mia picked up the remote to her television set and turned off the screen. Mia turned around in her chair then to see who it was. It was her grandmother.

"Don't you dare listen to that snake," Clarisse told her granddaughter, and then Mia smiled and got up and gave her grandma a big hug.

"I knew Mabrey would act like that when the news about my hysterectomy finally came out in the media. It's not exactly _fun_ listening to Mabrey saying all those mean things about me, but it's not surprising, either. I knew all along he would be a big jerk about it. I'm okay, though."

In that moment, they walked over to Mia's loveseat in the living area of her suite and sat down beside each other. Clarisse then told Mia, "This goes beyond him just being mean and being a jerk, though, my love. He's being vicious to you now because the tide is _finally_ beginning to turn against him in our country, and _you_ have played a big role in that. The people of Genovia have seen what you're trying to do in our government to help women throughout our country. Your advocating for women to _finally_ receive as much money in the workplace as their male counterparts and your advocating to help working mothers has _not_ gone unnoticed by the Genovian people, _nor_ have Mabrey's efforts to stop you in the good you're trying to do. He does still have a few people who support him in Parliament, but the fact of the matter is, most of Parliament can't stand him and are in fact far more loyal to _you_ than they are to him. I really do believe that thanks largely to _you_ and all the changes _you_ helped to bring about, such as helping to make it possible for women to serve in Parliament with men, Viscount Mabrey's days in the Genovian political arena are numbered. I think that somewhere deep down, even Mabrey knows that. And _that_ is why he's making such a fuss now. He knows he's on his way out and he knows it, but he's not the type of person who will go out without a fight, so he's trying to be as hurtful to you as he can."

"I hope you're right, Grandma. I really do. _I_ for one am _sick_ of having to endure him every time I have a session with Parliament. I don't know how you did it for so many years."

"It wasn't easy, my darling. It was _not_ easy."

"I bet it wasn't. You really do have the strength and patience of a saint, Grandma. I'm not nearly as good at being patient with my political opponents as you always were. I mean, yeah, there are some Parliament members I disagree with, but not all of my opponents are jerks about it like Mabrey. I mean, we're able to agree to disagree and be civil about it, you know? We're able to act like adults about it. But with _Mabrey_ , he is _such_ a vicious, mean-spirited pain in the neck and it is still _so_ hard sometimes for me not to lose my temper with him and end up raising my voice. I really hate it when that happens, though, because _I know_ that is _just_ the reaction he wants to get out of me, just like all the bullies I had to put up with in school when I was a kid."

"Oh, you called it perfectly. That is _precisely_ what he is: a bully. And don't be too hard on yourself, love. You haven't even been Queen for a whole year yet. It takes time to learn how to deal with bullies like Mabrey. I didn't learn how to deal with snakes like him overnight, either. It takes time, and most importantly, it takes _experience_. And besides, it probably is a good thing for someone to let old Mabrey have it with both barrels in Parliament every once in a while. I think you're doing great. I really do."

"That means everything to me, Grandma. It really does. I just want to do good things, that's all. I just want to take good care of the Genovian people. I just want to be the kind of queen you always were."

"That's a very sweet thing to say, Mia, but I don't want you to be like me. I want you to be like _you._ "

"Even though I'm a clumsy, uncivilized American who's about to be sterile?"

" _You are not_ uncivilized, young lady. You are intelligent, sweet, caring, generous, and _very_ classy. You are every bit as much a Genovian as you are an American and as the daughter of Prince Philippe and the granddaughter of King Rupert and myself, you have _every_ right to the Genovian throne. And no one in their right mind, _absolutely no one_ , cares one teeny, tiny little bit that you're a little clumsy, and they _certainly_ don't care that you need a hysterectomy. Of course there will always be stupid, mean-spirited idiots like Mabrey out there who will put up a fuss about it because they've got nothing better to do with their time, but the opinion of idiots does not matter. It's your heart and your brain that matter, _not_ the presence or absence of your uterus. You just remember that."

Mia smiled then and kissed her grandma's cheek and told her, "You are so wonderful, Grandma. Thanks for all the encouragement."

Clarisse touched her fingertips to her granddaughter's cheek and responded, "That's what grandmas are for."

A few minutes after Mia's very helpful conversation with her grandmother, her mother, Helen Thermopolis, arrived at the palace. Shortly before Mia first ascended the throne, Helen and her second husband, Mia's stepfather Patrick O'Connell, had a baby boy together named Trevor, and Patrick had had to stay behind in San Francisco with Trevor because he was sick with an ear infection, so Helen had flown to Genovia alone to be with her daughter when she had to have her surgery. Mia's best friend, Lilly Moscovitz, also arrived about half an hour after Helen did, and having her mom and her best friend with her was a very big help.

In the meantime, while Mia was catching up with her mom and her best friend, Clarisse personally called Dr. Hart and asked her to come by the palace once her workday was over. There was something she wanted to discuss with her in regards to her granddaughter's upcoming surgery, and she wanted to talk to her about it in person and not over the telephone. When Dr. Hart arrived that evening, she met with Clarisse alone in Dr. Mackenzie's office so they could talk together in private.

"What can I do for you this evening, my Queen?" asked Dr. Hart.

"Well doctor, as you can imagine, I've been doing a great deal of thinking about my granddaughter's surgery on Monday."

"Of course."

"And speaking to you, not as one of your patients, but as both a fellow queen and a fellow grandmother, there is something on the day of Mia's operation that I would like to do."

"I'm listening."

"I realize that what I'm about to ask goes against hospital rules, but when you're in the operating room with Mia on Monday, I want to be there, too. I know that ordinarily, you cannot allow a patient's family members to be there in the operating room while you're performing surgery, and I understand why you have that rule. I know that if something should go wrong in surgery and a family member is present, it is highly likely that that family member would get emotional and create a disturbance for you, making it all that much harder for you and your surgical team to do your jobs. But I want you to know that if you allow me to be present with Mia while you and your people are operating on her, and should anything go wrong, you do _not_ have to worry about me distracting you or creating a disturbance."

"Queen Clarisse–" Dr. Hart started to say.

"Doctor," Clarisse interrupted, "as I told you a moment ago, I am speaking to you not only as a fellow grandmother but also as a fellow queen. I have _many_ years of experience at keeping my emotions in check and maintaining a professional attitude, even in the most difficult of situations. I give you my word as a fellow queen that if you allow me to be there with Mia and any kind of complications occur, I will do _absolutely nothing_ to prevent you and your colleagues from doing your jobs. I will maintain my composure at all times and _I will_ stay out of your way.

"But speaking simply grandma to grandma, _I have_ to be there with her. I've been doing a great deal of research about these kinds of things on the Internet here lately and according to my research, patients do better during operations if there's a positive, encouraging atmosphere around them in the operating room, and I am convinced that it will be better for Mia if I'm there with her through all of this. As a grandma, I need to be there. I need to hold her hand while you're doing this. I need her to know that I'm here."

"I understand, my dear Queen. As a grandma of a young granddaughter myself, I understand _exactly_ what you're saying. I hear you, love. I really do. However, I am not only Queen Mia's physician. I am also yours and little Isaac's. As a fellow queen, I do not doubt your ability to maintain your composure in the slightest. If I were to allow you back into the operating room, you creating a disturbance for my team and me would be the _least_ of my worries. Unfortunately, even though Queen Mia is very young and very strong and even though I do not anticipate anything going wrong at all on Monday, with surgery, there is always a little bit of a chance of unforeseen problems occurring, and if that were to happen, it would be very traumatic for you. And speaking as your doctor, that would worry me a great deal. If anything should happen that traumatizes _you_ , it also traumatizes _Isaac_ , and with your high-risk pregnancy, that would be a bad thing."

Clarisse let out a sigh of defeat then, knowing that Dr. Hart was right. "I tell you what," Dr. Hart continued. "We grandmas will compromise, okay? On Monday morning, I'll allow you to scrub in with the rest of my team and me, and I'll allow you to sit by Miss Mia and hold her hand until we administer the anesthesia to her. How about that?"

"Very well, doctor. Since you think it's a bad idea for me to be there through the entire operation, that does sound like an agreeable compromise. Thank you."

"Of course. And I just want to say that while I do understand how frightening a cancer diagnosis can be for a family member, please, try not to let it scare you too badly. When it's caught in the early stages, the cure rate for uterine cancer is over eighty, sometimes over _ninety_ , percent. Queen Mia's kind of cancer is one of the easiest kinds there is to cure."

"When it's caught in the _early_ stages."

"I'm confident that it _is_ in the early stages, my Queen. I really am. Our little Queen is young, she is strong, and with the exception of this cancer, she is very healthy. I am very, _very_ confident that as soon as we get this hysterectomy done, she is going to be perfectly fine. We just hit a little bump in the road, but _we will_ get past it."

"That's what my brain keeps telling me. But in my heart…in my heart, I can't stop thinking about how I lost Philippe, and I can't stop being afraid that it's eventually going to happen all over again with Mia."

" _That will not happen again._ "

A couple of tears came to Clarisse's eyes then as she told Dr. Hart, "You don't know that."

In that moment, even though it wasn't the most professional thing for Dr. Hart to do, she didn't hesitate to walk up to Clarisse and give her a warm hug. Then she said to her, "Yes I _do_ know it, my dear. _I do_ know that that will not happen to you again. I have a very powerful gut instinct, Queen Clarisse, and in over four decades of delivering babies and practicing medicine, it has never _once_ been wrong, and my gut instinct tells me that as soon as we get this problem taken care of, our young little Queen is going to be perfectly fine, and she is going to outlive Methuselah."

Clarisse laughed through her tears and said, "She'd better!"

"She will, my Queen. She will."

" _Oh! I hate_ these pregnancy hormones!" Clarisse complained as she grabbed a tissue from a box of tissues on Dr. Mackenzie's desk and began dabbing her eyes.

"It's not pregnancy hormones. It's being a mother, and a grandmother. _Any_ woman going through what you're going through now would have the need to cry. It's nothing at all to be ashamed of. I know that you always had to keep your emotions under control during all your years as Queen, but you cannot keep them bottled up all the time. There are times when you have to let them out, and it's perfectly okay for you to do so. It's okay to admit you're frightened, Clarisse. _And it is okay_ to let yourself have a little cry every now and then. You just keep reminding yourself about my gut instinct when you start feeling scared. You just keep remembering that I say your granddaughter is going to outlive Methuselah."

"I will. Thank you for everything, Dr. Hart."

"That's what I'm here for, my Queen. That's what I'm here for. We're going to get through this."

"I know," said Clarisse, and then she and Dr. Hart said goodbye and Dr. Hart left.

Mercifully, with her mother and Lilly with her, the rest of the weekend went by fairly quickly for Mia. And even though Viscount Mabrey wasted no time whatsoever running her down in the media for her inability to produce a biological royal heir, most Genovians expressed compassion and support in the press for their Queen throughout that weekend, which was a big help to Mia as well. Something else that also proved to be very helpful was the fact that Andrew managed to pull some strings and get his leave extended for another week so that he, too, would be able to be there with Mia through the surgery, a fact that Mia found to be very comforting.

What Mia took the most comfort from, though, was her grandmother's surprise to her on the morning of her surgery. When everybody else had said goodbye to Mia just before orderlies took her back to the operating room, she thought she'd seen the last of her loved ones until she'd be waking up from her operation a few hours later. However, much to her delight, she was wrong.

As Mia was lying on the operating table in a hospital gown and blue cap covering her head, surrounded by Dr. Hart and her team all dressed in the appropriate blue scrubs, surgical gowns, caps, masks, and gloves, Dr. Hart told her, "My little Queen, before we get started, we have a little surprise for you."

In that moment, Clarisse came into the room, also attired in matching blue scrubs and in a cap, gown, and gloves, wearing a white surgical mask over her face. But even though her face was mostly covered, Mia could immediately tell that it was her grandma, of course. "Oh, cool!" she said with delight after Clarisse sat down on a stool beside her bed and took her hand, making everybody else laugh. "Grandma! You're a surgeon!"

Clarisse laughed and said, "No, my love. I'm just a grandma."

"This is a way cool surprise, Dr. Hart," said Mia.

"Oh, I wish I could take the credit for it, my little dear, but this was all your grandmother's idea. She's going to stay right here by your side and hold your hand until we put you under the anesthesia for your operation."

"You are _so_ thoughtful, Grandma. Thank you."

"You are _more_ than welcome, sweetie. Besides, it's hardly any great sacrifice. This is _precisely_ where I want to be right now." Mia looked up at Clarisse and smiled then, and squeezed her hand. "It's going to be alright," Clarisse whispered.

"I know."

"I'm here. Grandma's right here."

"And now that we do have Grandma here with us, why don't we begin?" Dr. Hart suggested. "Miss Mia, this is Dr. James Silver, and he's going to be your anesthesiologist today."

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," the man sitting just behind Mia's bed told her.

Mia leaned her head back then and looked up at him, and she said, "Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too, Dr. Silver. Hey, you're not a Mabrey supporter, are you?" she teased, and then everybody else in the room cracked up, including Clarisse. The entire country of Genovia was _very_ well aware of the fact that Mabrey disliked their young Queen with a terrible vengeance.

"Absolutely not, Your Majesty," he assured her, which was, in fact, the truth. Like the majority of Genovians, _nobody_ in that operating room that day liked Mabrey _at all._ "Absolutely not. I think I can say with the utmost confidence that _everybody_ in this room is a Queen Mia fan."

"That's right," Dr. Hart agreed.

"Absolutely," Clarisse chimed in.

"Cool! I'm glad to hear that because if there were any Mabrey fans in here, there's no telling what kind of condition my body would be in when I woke up. A Mabrey supporter would probably do some unauthorized plastic surgery or something. Maybe I'd wake up with two noses." Again, everyone had a good laugh.

"I would never stand for that kind of foolishness taking place in my O.R., Miss Mia," Dr. Hart assured her. "You don't have to worry about any kind of mischief taking place while I'm in charge."

"That's very comforting to know, Dr. Hart. Thank you."

"Okay, Your Majesty, I'm going to start your anesthesia now," Dr. Silver told her.

"Okay."

Clarisse squeezed Mia's hand then and said, "I'm here, darling."

"Thank you, Grandma. I know everything's going to be alright."

"Well of course it is," Clarisse said lovingly. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too."

"Your Majesty, I'm going to ask you to start counting backwards from one hundred, okay?" said Dr. Silver.

"Okay. One hundred. Ninety-nine. Ninety…eight. Ninety…seven. Ninety…"

A moment later, Dr. Silver told the rest of the team, "She's out."

"I take it this is my cue to step out, now," Clarisse sighed. She really hated to leave Mia.

"Don't worry, my Queen. I'll take care of this girl like she was my own granddaughter," Dr. Hart assured her.

Clarisse looked at Dr. Hart in that moment and said, "I'm going to hold you to that." Then she bent down and kissed Mia's cheek and whispered in her ear, "I have to be going now, my love. I'll see you again very soon. God is watching over you, sweetheart, and so are all of us, and we are all going to take such good care of you. You are going to be just fine, so don't be afraid."

A long moment later, as hard as it was for her to, Clarisse forced herself to let go of Mia's hand, get up off the stool, and walk out of the operating room.


	11. Dessert From Mia

**Note to readers:** Okay, I'm pretty sure that this is the last you guys will be hearing from me for about the next week and a half. To be honest, I **was** tempted to mess with you guys and leave you hanging with my last chapter, but in the end, I decided to be nice, lol. Anyway, I'm sorry I have to stop after this chapter for a little while, but I will be back on the job as soon as I can be, Lord willing. :) In the meantime, I really hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter of _Cherished_ , and as always, thank you all very much for your reviews and your support!

 **Chapter 11: Dessert From Mia**

"Just in case I haven't made myself clear, I want to state once again for the record _that I officially hate waiting!_ " Lilly complained about an hour and a half into Mia's surgery, and everyone else chuckled a bit. Lilly Moscovitz had in fact made her feelings about waiting _crystal_ clear several times already that morning. Dr. Hart had explained to everyone in advance that the operation could take anywhere from two to three hours, and while two to three hours wasn't a very great length of time in the grand scheme of things, to an impatient soul like Lilly – who of course was worried about her best friend – two to three hours was a lifetime. And while Clarisse, Joseph, Helen, and Andrew were a bit more patient, frankly, they all felt the same way.

"Try to hang in there, Lilly," Andrew encouraged her. "We'll know something sooner or later."

"Well I want to know something _now._ That is my best friend in the _world_ back there."

"And that is also _my daughter_ back there," Helen said pointedly.

Helen Thermopolis had met Mia's father, Prince Philippe, as a young art student in college, and they dated for a little while, fell in love, and got married in secret, _without_ the knowledge or permission of their families. In those days, Prince Philippe had been hoping against hope that his older brother, Prince Pierre, would not reject his title as the Crown Prince of Genovia in order to become a priest like he'd been claiming he would for years, and he had held onto the false hope that he would be able to renounce his own title and live a normal life in California with the woman he loved more than anything.

But soon after Helen and Philippe were married, Helen got pregnant with Mia, and then shortly after Mia was born, Pierre finally renounced his title to begin studying for the priesthood. Pierre's decision then forced Philippe's hand, requiring him, once and for all, to make a choice: his wife and baby, or his entire home country. Helen had made it clear that she did _not_ want to live the life of a Genovian royal, nor did she want that kind of life for their child as she was growing up. Helen had not wanted Mia to grow up with the press watching her every move. Prince Philippe knew that if he rejected his title like his brother, the Genovian crown would eventually pass to Baron and Baroness von Troken, and that that in turn would be a bad thing for Genovia because the von Trokens were _not_ caring, worthy leaders. Therefore, as heartbreaking as it was for the young couple who were still very much in love with each other, they decided to get a quickie divorce, and they agreed that while Helen would be raising their daughter alone in San Francisco, Philippe would be living in Genovia, serving as its crown prince, doing his royal duty, preparing to eventually be crowned King of Genovia.

Prince Philippe was supposed to get remarried someday to a young lady of Genovian nobility, or perhaps to a princess from another country, and have more royal heirs with her. He and Helen had originally planned to reveal Mia's true identity to her when she turned eighteen and allow her to decide for herself if she wanted to remain in America or live as a royal in Genovia. However, when Philippe was suddenly killed in a horrific car accident one day when Mia was fifteen, Clarisse was forced to come to San Francisco, be reunited with her only grandchild, and tell her the truth about her identity.

The road Mia had traveled, going from an unpopular, geeky high school kid one minute to a royal princess the next, and then eventually becoming Genovia's queen, had been difficult, and it had _definitely_ been filled with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. After Mia graduated from college and moved to her family's palace in Genovia at age twenty-one, one of the Renaldi family's biggest enemies, Viscount Arthur Mabrey, then revealed the fact that his nephew, Lord Nicholas Devereaux, was actually ahead of the von Trokens in the royal line of succession, and after debating it a little while, Parliament decided to enforce its sexist law that required a crown princess to be married first before she could ascend the throne, and they set a thirty-day deadline. Fortunately, Mia did manage to convince Parliament to overturn the law at her almost-wedding to Andrew Jacoby, and despite a bunch of problems and setbacks that had occurred along the way, she went on to become a wonderful young Queen of Genovia. However, while Mia's mother and grandmother had helped her navigate all the other unexpected twists and turns that had occurred along her road to becoming a princess and later a queen, _this_ sudden turn of events was proving to be the hardest, most frightening obstacle for both of them yet.

When Helen had been told by her only daughter over the phone that she had cancer, Helen's heart just _stopped._ It was truly the most terrifying moment of Helen's entire life, as it had been for Clarisse and Joseph. She had been terrified and devastated to learn that her little girl actually had _cancer_ , as any parent would be. And it had also been painful to learn that Mia would need a hysterectomy and that she wouldn't be able to go through a pregnancy herself. Helen didn't care one little bit if her future grandchildren from Mia were biological or adopted, of course, but as a woman who'd been through the joys of pregnancy, it really did hurt her heart to know that that was being taken away from Mia.

And just like Clarisse, Helen, too, now felt incredibly helpless. She knew that with such a qualified OB/GYN and surgeon as Dr. Hart, and with the fact that Mia was very healthy and strong, it was highly unlikely that there would be any problems with the procedure, but it was still very frightening. Of course Helen knew that even if she _could_ be with her daughter in the operating room now, there would be nothing she herself could do to help her anyway since she was not a trained surgeon, but it still killed her knowing that her daughter was going through surgery and that there was _nothing_ she could do for her now. She was praying for her daughter, naturally, but like Clarisse, she too wanted to be taking _some_ kind of action herself. It was deeply frustrating to only be able to sit in a room and wait for news.

"We'll know something soon," Joseph said quietly, trying to soothe them, but of course, he was also worried about what was happening with Mia now.

Finally, about an hour later, Dr. Hart emerged from the O.R., and the moment everybody saw her, they all rose from their seats. Thankfully, the instant she walked into the waiting area where they were all standing, she got right to the point and did _not_ beat around the bush.

"Good news," she told them all. "The surgery is over, and it went very smoothly. Queen Mia is resting in one of the recovery rooms now."

"Thank God," said Helen.

"So what about the cancer?" Lilly asked.

"Yes, doctor. What stage is it?" Clarisse questioned, _very_ anxious to know, of course, as was everyone else.

"I have good news there as well. Miss Mia's cancer is at Stage IB. It has only progressed about halfway into the uterine muscle wall, which is very good news. We caught it in the early stages."

" _Yes!_ " Helen cried out. Lilly let out an excited whoop, and even though Clarisse was usually a lot more reserved when it came to how she behaved in public, now, she did not hesitate to give Joseph a joyful hug.

Joseph gave Clarisse a big kiss then and told her, "We got it early, sweetheart. We got it early."

After the celebrating died down a few moments later, Clarisse asked, "Will she need any other treatment now, like radiation?"

"Not every doctor would recommend radiation treatment with Stage I uterine cancer. It's really up to Queen Mia if she wants to pursue it or not. I, however, would recommend it just to be on the safe side, since it was at Stage IB. I prefer to be as cautious as I can. I don't think it's a likely possibility that there were any microscopic cancer cells that I might have missed, but I do want to do the radiation anyway just to make absolutely certain that we get everything."

"How many radiation treatments will she need to have?" asked Joseph.

"Just one. If our young Queen agrees to the treatment, then I'll begin tomorrow by inserting a small pellet into her pelvic region that will remain in her body for the next three days and continuously give off radiation during that time. That should be enough to destroy any microscopic cancer cells that just might be lurking around."

"Will it be painful?" Lilly wanted to know.

"Having the pellet inserted might be slightly uncomfortable, but it won't be painful."

"What kind of symptoms will she have with the radiation?" asked Helen.

"She may experience a little weakness, drowsiness, or nausea, but's all. And if she does experience any of those symptoms, it should be mild. We'll put her in a special room during the treatment, where nurses will monitor her on cameras just to make sure she's alright. Because of the radiation the pellet will be giving off, however, no one will be able to stay in the room with her for very long. Queen Clarisse, because of your pregnancy, you will not be able to visit your granddaughter at all, I'm afraid. It would be too big a risk for Baby Isaac. The rest of you will be able to visit with her, but your visits will have to be very brief, again, because of the radiation."

"Whatever you say, doctor," said Helen. "We'll do whatever we have to do, just so long as we destroy the cancer, _all of it_."

" _Exactly_ ," Clarisse agreed as everyone else began heaving a sigh of relief and hugging each other.

A couple of hours later, Dr. Hart allowed everyone to go back to Mia's ICU room to visit her because she had started to come around from the anesthesia. (Dr. Hart was keeping her in the ICU overnight night just as a precaution.) Like everyone else, Mia was also very relieved to hear that her cancer was still in Stage I. She was less than thrilled to hear about the radiation, but at the urging of her mother and grandmother, she decided to err on the side of caution and go through with it.

The next day, Mia's radiation treatment began. Everyone except Clarisse made sure to visit Mia as soon as they could, although they couldn't stay with her for very long. However, even though she wasn't around people very much during those next three days, everybody called her and talked to her often on the phone, especially Clarisse, so she never felt too lonely or depressed.

During the second night of treatment, Isaac was so busy kicking and turning cartwheels that there was no way Clarisse could sleep. Clarisse also knew that like a lot of people, her granddaughter had trouble sleeping in a strange bed, so on a hunch, she called Mia to see how she was doing.

"What are you doing up so late, Grandma?" Mia immediately asked on the other end of the line. It was almost midnight and Clarisse and Joseph were usually in bed asleep well before then.

"Wishing that this overactive son of ours would calm down and let me sleep."

"Oh, dear. Is Isaac being a naughty baby?"

"I wouldn't use the word naughty. Just…uninformed. He's unaware of the concept of night and day right now, so there's no way he can know that it's nighttime and that people are usually supposed be asleep now."

"Of course. My mistake. Our baby is a perfect little angel who could _never_ be naughty."

"Absolutely. And every day of his life, I am completely certain that our son will be nothing but a perfect gentleman, just like his father."

"Oh, definitely. Just as I have been _nothing_ but a perfect lady and a perfect little angel myself every second of my life," Mia teased, and Clarisse laughed. "Someone who is _not_ a perfect lady, though, is Monica! _I can't believe_ that after her year-long marriage to Dr. Thompson ended and she went back to Stan, she actually started fooling around with Mike… _the day after_ she and Stan got engaged again!"

Ordinarily, Clarisse read _much_ more intelligent books than Harlequin romance novels, of course, but so many women on the palace staff couldn't stop talking and joking about how this particular novel was so ridiculous and insane that it was actually funny, and Clarisse eventually broke down and read it herself out of sheer curiosity a while back. It certainly hadn't been a very mentally stimulating read, but it had been a funny and entertaining one, and when Mia had begun her radiation treatment, Clarisse gave it to her to read so she would have something humorous to keep her mind occupied.

"Oh, that's _nothing._ Just wait another ten pages or so and see what happens when this group of swimsuit models moves into town."

"Oh, _please_ tell me Stan gets revenge and starts something with one of the models."

"You just wait and read it for yourself."

"These characters are _crazy!_ "

"Indeed. They're certainly not _intelligent_ when it comes to who they choose as mates, but I'll give them this: _they are entertaining._ "

"You're not kidding."

Mia and Clarisse talked and joked about the book for several more minutes until Isaac finally began to settle down. After Isaac calmed down, they said goodnight, in the hopes that they both would be able to get a little sleep. Once they hung up the phone, Clarisse was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but Mia wasn't feeling the least bit sleepy, so she continued to read. After having read through most of the novel by a quarter past two that morning – and coming to a shocking event – Mia couldn't resist the temptation to call her grandmother's cell number and talk to her about it, even though she only expected to get Clarisse's voice mail at that hour, of course. She knew her grandmother would get her message later on that day and call her back.

However, thanks to Isaac's ongoing gymnastics, poor Clarisse was once again wide awake and sitting on the couch in the living area of her suite when she saw her cell phone begin to vibrate. (While Clarisse _did_ strongly dislike modern technology, Mia did eventually wear her down and convince her to start using her own cell phone, and in recent months, Clarisse even allowed Mia to teach her how to play some games and take pictures with it.) Clarisse instantly answered it when she saw that it was Mia.

And before Clarisse could even tell her granddaughter hello, Mia's voice cried out on the other end of the line, " _Monica and Stan killed Niagara Falls?!_ "

Clarisse laughed out loud and responded, "And you haven't even gotten to the ending yet!"

"Let me see if I understand the situation correctly, and just let me make certain of the fact that I haven't lost my ability to comprehend what I'm reading when I read something." That got another big laugh out of Clarisse. "On Monica and Stan's wedding night, the first night of their big honeymoon together in Niagara Falls, they make love in the _craziest_ way I have _ever_ read about in _any_ romance novel before _in my entire life_ ; they do it _literally_ in front of _everybody else_ visiting Niagara Falls, and everybody else there was so shocked, stunned, and embarrassed by what they witnessed that they all left, nobody else in the entire world ever wanted to go there again, and Niagara Falls was completely and officially shut down as a vacation spot and tourist attraction?!"

"Yes, that's about it in a nutshell."

"And so Monica and Stan _officially caused the death of Niagara Falls on their wedding night?! Monica and Stan killed Niagara Falls!_ Oh, my gosh! _That is so ridiculous!_ "

Clarisse laughed once again and said, "I know. That's the fun of that book, shaking your head and laughing at the pure insanity of it."

"Is it even _anatomically possible_ for a man and a woman to make love like that?"

"You know, I've often wondered that myself after finishing that story."

"I may show this book to Dr. Hart, have her read that scene, and ask her if it's possible to do that. I mean, she _is_ a doctor, after all. She would know."

"Yes, I'm sure she would."

"So apart from Isaac kicking and keeping you awake, how are you doing?"

"Believe it or not, this is one of the rare times in my life where I'm suffering from an acute case of laziness. I'm getting another one of my huge cravings for something with a banana in it, and even though we have plenty of bananas downstairs in the kitchen, I'm too lazy to get my royal behind up off this couch and go get one."

"Queens are _never_ lazy, Grandma, and especially not you. Dowager queens like you are merely suffering from fatigue after a lifetime of hard work and lack the necessary energy to go downstairs and get a banana."

Clarisse laughed at that. "Yes, I think I prefer that explanation better."

After Mia thought about it for the next couple of moments, she got an idea, and she told Clarisse, "Hey Grandma, try to stay awake for about, maybe, the next ten, fifteen minutes or so."

"Oh, I'm sure Isaac will see to that. But why?"

"I'm going to go ahead and say goodbye now. There's something I have to do. Just trust me."

"Alright, dear. If you say so. I'll talk to you soon."

"Talk to you soon, Grandma. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Clarisse said, and then they hung up.

In that next moment at the hospital, Mia called Shades on his cell, whom she knew was standing guard right outside her room.

"Your Majesty?"

"Shades, I have a little assignment for you. I know nobody can be in my room for very long, but this will only take one second. I have my pocketbook in my closet in here with the rest of my things. I need you to come in here and get it, and then I need to send you out on a little errand for me. Grandma's got another banana craving, and you and I are going to help her out."

"Whatever you say, Your Majesty," Shades responded.

About fifteen minutes later, there was a soft knock on the doors of Queen Clarisse's suite. Shades quietly stuck his head in then and asked softly, "Your Majesty, are you still awake?"

Clarisse put her new novel down and answered, "Yes, I'm here." She knew Mia was up to something, of course, and she assumed the person coming to her suite at this hour had something to do with her granddaughter's scheme, whatever it was.

"I have something for you, Your Majesty. It's from Queen Mia."

"Oh, well yes, do come in," she told him. She was a little surprised then to see that it was Shades, carrying a paper bag that was obviously from a fast food drive-thru, as well as a big Styrofoam cup with a straw. "What are you doing here, Shades? Why aren't you at your post?"

"I'll be returning to my post very shortly, ma'am. Don't worry, though. I left the Queen in good hands. Kevin's standing guard outside her door now." That put Clarisse's mind at ease somewhat. She'd known Kevin for several years now, and he was a pretty good guy, as well as an excellent bodyguard.

"Very well. What's all this?"

"A little something from Queen Mia to help you make it through this long night you're having, Your Majesty," he answered as he handed her the bag and the Styrofoam cup. "It's a banana split and a nice large banana milkshake to wash it down with."

Clarisse laughed. "Oh, my goodness! Well thank you, Shades. Thank you very much."

The sound of a man's voice coming from inside their suite in the wee hours of the morning quickly woke Joseph from his sleep, who was always the protective husband and bodyguard. He got up out of bed the moment he heard Shades' voice, and he stood in the background and quietly listened to their conversation, and when he heard Shades say that he'd brought Clarisse a banana split and a banana milkshake from Mia, he laughed to himself and smiled. Their granddaughter really was one of a kind.

"You're very welcome, ma'am," Shades said, and then he turned around and left.

Joseph came into the living area then and sat down beside Clarisse on the couch, and he said, "A banana split and a banana milkshake, huh?"

Clarisse laughed and said, "Yes! I was kidding around with Mia on the telephone a little while ago about how I had another craving for a banana but was too lazy to go downstairs and get one from the kitchen, and evidently, she and Shades came to my rescue."

Joseph laughed and smiled. "Isaac still won't let you sleep, huh?"

Clarisse put Joseph's hand on her abdomen in that moment and told him, "What do _you_ think?" Again, Joseph laughed as he felt his active son kick and move around inside his wife.

"You know eating a dessert _and_ washing it down with a milkshake on top of that will only make Isaac _more_ hyper than he is right now, don't you?"

"Oh, please," Clarisse said as she rolled her eyes. "Isaac's going to be hyper anyway, regardless of what I do. And if our son is bound and determined to keep me awake, which he has made it _perfectly_ clear he is, then _I_ am going to spend this time eating my banana split, drinking my banana milkshake, and enjoying myself."

Joseph laughed once more and said, "I hear you, my darling. I hear you. Knock yourself out. You've earned it."

Clarisse took her banana split out of the paper bag then, and she took out some plastic silverware that came with it and was just about to start digging in when all of the sudden, she became very emotional and had to keep from fighting off tears. Joseph immediately noticed the sudden change in his wife's emotional state, and he lovingly put his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it, Clarisse?" he asked her gently.

"Oh, Joseph," Clarisse sighed as she put the plastic spoon down. "Mia had a hysterectomy not even three whole days ago. She is undergoing radiation treatment right now, at this very moment. Our granddaughter is fighting _cancer_ as we speak, and yet here she is, worrying about _me_ and my silly banana cravings."

"You're _not_ being silly, sweetheart. You and I are simply blessed with a very sweet, very loving, very thoughtful young granddaughter. And if she saw you getting sad right now, it would really hurt her heart."

"I know," Clarisse sighed. "I know. I just wish _I_ could be going through this right now instead of Mia."

"Don't talk like that, Clarisse. As a grandpa, it's killing me inside knowing that my granddaughter is going through this and that there's nothing I can do to stop it, but it would also tear me apart if it were you. I wish _I_ could be the one to take this. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could. But she is strong, and she is coping with this entire thing _very_ well. And I think the least you can do for your granddaughter right now is to make her happy by enjoying that banana split and milkshake."

Clarisse smiled and laughed a little, and then she took her husband's advice and dug in to her dessert from Mia.


	12. Fight or Flight

**Note to readers:** Good news! My situation got worked out sooner than I expected. I had thought I wouldn't be able to write again until June 3, but now, I am officially back on the job! :) As always, thank you all so much for the reviews and the support! Hope you enjoy, everyone! :)

 **Chapter 12: Fight or Flight**

When Viscount Mabrey made a point of coming to the palace along with Prime Minister Motaz and Lady Charlotte Kutaway to officially welcome Queen Mia home from the hospital about a week later, _everyone_ knew it was bad news. Marjorie, Shades and his men, as well as many of the servants like Mrs. Kout, the head housekeeper, Clarisse's lady's maids, Priscilla and Olivia, and Mia's lady's maids, Brigitte and Brigitta, all stood around in the background just outside Mia's office, watching with dread as they waited to see what low, despicable stunt Mabrey was going to try to pull now.

"Mom, you don't have to hold onto my arm," Mia said with a laugh as she walked inside with Helen, Clarisse, Joseph, Lilly, and Andrew (who had managed to pull some strings and get his leave extended once again so he could be there when Mia came home from the hospital.) "I can walk by myself."

"It never hurts to be cautious, sweetheart. You've just had a big surgery, _and_ you've gone through radiation treatment on top of that. You're weak right now."

"I'm not weak," Mia said as they all came into the foyer where everybody else was. "I'm alright, Mom. Really." Then in that moment when she saw everybody standing there, she smiled and said, "Oh, hello everyone."

"Hello, Your Majesty. It's a great delight to see you back here in the palace again," Sebastian said with a warm smile.

Charlotte smiled then and said, "Sebastian, you took the words right out of my mouth. It's wonderful to have you back, Your Majesty."

"Thanks, you guys. Thank you so much."

"Your Majesty, it hasn't been the same around here without you. We've all missed you so much," Marjorie said sweetly.

"Aw, thank you, Marjorie. I've missed you guys, too."

"Marjorie is quite right, Your Majesty. Things haven't been the same around here without you. Without your youthful liveliness to keep things interesting and keep everyone on their toes, things have been so quiet. So peaceful." Everyone knew Mabrey's comment could be taken one of two ways. Either he was complimenting Mia on bringing life and excitement to an otherwise quiet and dull palace, or he was putting Mia down for _not_ being a quieter type of royal who didn't stir things up – the way _she_ had been stirring things up in their battles in Parliament. Clearly, it was not the former, but the latter.

"Why don't we all go into Her Majesty's office and have a nice cup of tea?" Marjorie suggested in that awkward moment, which helped to relieve the tension.

"That's a wonderful idea, Marjorie. Thank you," said Clarisse.

Mia, Clarisse, Joseph, Helen, Lilly, Andrew, Charlotte, Sebastian, and Mabrey all went into Mia's office then and sat down together and talked for a little while until Brigitte and Brigitta served the tea, all the while Shades was standing guard right outside…and many other guards and servants stood around eavesdropping, even though they knew they shouldn't. Mabrey remained surprisingly quiet through most of their tea and conversation. Then Charlotte and Sebastian announced that they had to leave because they were having a meeting with Lord Palimore and Lord Marshall later that afternoon, and they walked out of Mia's office.

Once they were standing outside in the foyer, Sebastian told Charlotte, "Give Lord Palimore and Lord Marshall my apologies, Charlotte. I'm going to stick around here for a little longer. Viscount Mabrey is going to try something. I just know it. I want to see it for myself how he acts towards the Queen when he thinks I'm not around."

Charlotte nodded and said, "I understand, Sebastian. I'll be sure and tell them you're sorry you couldn't make it."

"Thank you," Sebastian told her, and then Charlotte left.

A couple of minutes after everyone was finished with their tea, Clarisse excused herself and left rather quickly. Joseph followed after her, wanting to make sure she was okay.

"Are you alright, my dear?" he asked her out in the foyer.

Clarisse then whispered in his ear, "I'm fine. I simply have the bladder of a pregnant woman."

"Of course," Joseph whispered, and while Clarisse quickly headed off to the nearest bathroom, he stayed out in the foyer and struck up a conversation with Sebastian. However, even though he was talking to Sebastian, his ears were on high alert, paying very close attention to what was being said inside Mia's office, while he conversed with the prime minister and waited for his wife to come back.

Inside Mia's office, thanks merely to Mabrey's presence, the tension was so thick, a person could cut it with a knife. After another couple of minutes of meaningless pleasantries, Helen finally spoke up.

She walked up to Mabrey in that moment and told him, "Viscount Mabrey, my name is Helen O'Connell, and I am the Queen's mother. I am _well_ aware of how you feel about my daughter, and I am _equally_ well aware of how you have treated her since day one. I don't know _what_ you are doing here today, but I think we all know it is _not_ to see how my daughter is doing after her hospital stay and to wish her a speedy recovery, so let's just stop beating around the bush and come right to the point. _What are_ you doing here?"

A smug grin came over Mabrey's face as he answered, "If there is any one thing I do love about you Americans, it's your directness. Very well, Mrs. O'Connell. I'll be equally direct. I came here simply to tell the truth. A truth which no one else in this room but I have the courage to acknowledge."

Mia walked up to Mabrey then, folded her arms, and said, "And that truth is?"

"That due to your health problems and your sterility, you have no business being on the throne. Genovia needs – _and deserves_ – to have a ruler who is able to produce an heir, and even more importantly than that, Genovia needs and deserves a ruler who is healthy and strong and will _remain_ healthy and strong. Step aside, Your Majesty. Over these past several months, you have proven you are not up to the task of ruling our great nation. My nephew is. _He_ can provide Genovia with an heir, and unlike you, he does _not_ have a history of cancer."

" _How dare you_ say those things to my daughter?!" Helen cried out.

"You're out of line," said Andrew. "That was _extremely_ inappropriate, sir! _How dare you_ speak to the Queen of Genovia that way?"

"You want to hear the truth, you rotten creep?!" Lilly cried out. "Here's the truth: you're a jackass! You are a cold-hearted, mean-spirited snake who is rotten to the core and is unfit to be around other human beings because of your abusive nature! _There's the truth!_ "

Surprisingly, Mia managed to maintain her composure longer than everyone else. The past seven and a half months she'd spent as Queen had had a real impact on her. Clarisse had come out of the bathroom and rejoined her husband and Sebastian in the foyer a minute before, and they had all been listening to what Mabrey and all the others said with _very_ keen interest. Charlotte had had to come back inside the palace because she lost one of a very valuable pair of earrings and she searched for it in the foyer, so she was overhearing what was going on as well. Meanwhile, Joseph knew Shades would handle Mabrey if things got too out of control, but he still listened very closely and was well prepared to step in if he had to.

"Viscount Mabrey," Mia said with amazing calmness, "what you just said will not shock or upset me. I know how you feel about me. I've _always_ known how you feel about me. I am well aware of the fact that you do not like me and that you do not want me on the throne. However, over these past seven months, _I know_ that I've done a lot of good in Genovia, and I will not stop and I _certainly_ will not step down simply because you want me to do so. My health may have been compromised for a short time and it may take me a few weeks to fully recover from my surgery, _but I will_ recover and when I do, I will get back to the business of ruling Genovia and I will _continue_ to do so for the rest of my life." The Queen was now in control in Clarisse's mind, so she managed to keep her composure, but Joseph could clearly see the light of Grandma in Clarisse's eyes – the part of her that wanted to jump for joy out of sheer pride at the _wonderful_ way her granddaughter was handling herself with her biggest enemy in there.

"And what if your cancer comes back?"

" _It won't_ come back. _I have_ defeated it. But even if it _does_ come back by some small chance one day, I will continue to take care of Genovia until my dying breath and you and Nicholas _certainly_ won't stop me. Now, if there's nothing else, Viscount, then with all due respect, I think it's time you left. Shades," Mia called out to him then, and he entered the office. "Please show him out."

"With pleasure, Your Majesty," Shades answered, and as he started walking with Mabrey out of Mia's office, Mia went up to her desk and noticed a large stack of files sitting a little too close to the edge of it. She picked the stack up in that moment to move it so it wouldn't fall off her desk, even though Dr. Hart had clearly warned her that she shouldn't lift anything for a good while yet.

In that precise instant, as Mia was holding the stack of files in her hands, Mabrey turned and said, "Young lady, you are exactly like your grandmother. When she was Queen, she was also too prideful and stubborn to really know her place the way a true Queen of Genovia should. And after _stupidly_ choosing to go through a pregnancy at her age, she is a ridiculous freak of nature that the whole world cannot stop laughing at, just like you."

A second later, Mia slammed that heavy stack of files down onto her desk as loudly as she could, causing everybody, _everybody_ , within earshot, to jump – even Joseph. And then she walked up to Mabrey and asked him, " _What_ did you just say about my grandmother?"

Again, the smug grin returned. Clarisse was right. Mabrey's days in the Genovian political sphere truly _were_ numbered now. The entire _country_ of Genovia hated him now more than ever and he knew, especially if Parliament changed the law to allow an adopted child to inherit the throne, that neither he nor his nephew would last much longer in the realm of Genovian politics. That was _precisely_ why he wanted to do as much psychological _and_ physical damage to Mia as he could before the end came for him. It was why he chose to emotionally attack her _the very day_ she came home from the hospital. He had known perfectly well that he would _never_ convince her to give up the throne voluntarily just because he wanted her to, so that had not been his goal. His goal was merely to plant seeds of doubt in her mind and make her question herself and her right to rule. And his goal that day was _also_ to get under her skin and upset her in the hopes that doing so just might make her physically ill and make it more difficult for her to recover from everything she'd just been through. When he saw that Mia was beginning to get angry – when he saw that his efforts were beginning to succeed – he was _more_ than pleased with himself.

Clarisse, Joseph, Sebastian, and Charlotte all reentered Mia's office in that moment as Mabrey replied, again with that same smug smile, "I said that your grandmother was a ridiculous freak of nature, just like her granddaughter."

"That's what I thought you said," Mia told him, still with an _amazing_ sense of calmness. She then walked back over to her desk and put her purse on top of it, and she opened up her purse and took out a scrunchie and put her long hair up into a ponytail.

"Mia, you're starting to scare me," Lilly said with dread. In all her years of knowing Mia, she had _never_ before seen her _this_ angry.

"Talk to me, sweetheart," Helen said kindly. "What's going on?"

Mia answered neither of them, but instead, took off the two rings she'd been wearing and set them on top of her desk, and then she took her earrings out of her ears and set them on her desk as well.

Then she walked back over to Mabrey and said, "You know, Viscount, I have been taking _so much crap_ from _bullies_ like you _all my life._ I took it and took it and took it _and took it_ every day of my life in high school because I just wanted to be a good, quiet little girl and not make a scene. And even when _you_ tried to force me into an arranged marriage when I first moved into the palace seven and a half months ago, as well as getting your nephew to play games with my head, _I never once_ said a cross word to you. We may butt heads and disagree in Parliament, but _I still_ try my hardest to treat you with as much respect as possible. Because it's important to my position as a royal to maintain my dignity and composure, _I have continued_ to take _so much crap from you._ I don't care that you don't like me and I don't care that you have a low opinion of me and say mean things about me. But when you start talking about my grandmother, buddy, _you have just crossed the line._

"You like to go on and on and on about how you think I am _so_ unworthy of the Genovian throne because of my American heritage. You like to complain about what an uncivilized American I am. And it's true. We Americans are pretty common, run-of-the-mill, everyday folks. We don't have royalty in America. We have a president who can't even pronounce the word 'nuclear.' It's understandable that the rest of the world thinks Americans are hopelessly uncouth in comparison to them. And if I were a full-blooded Genovian royal, I'm sure I would handle this situation a lot differently. I'm sure in that case, it would be a lot easier for me to not respond to you at all and just tell Shades to show you the door and be done with you. That's the proper way to do things in the Genovian palace. However, in America, if somebody insults your grandma, we don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about propriety. We take you outside, and we beat you up! And unfortunately for you, sir, _I will not_ be handling this like a proper Genovian royal today. _Today_ , I am handling this _like an uncivilized American!_ As of this very moment, I am taking you outside, and I am going to _show you_ just how _uncivilized_ this American can _really_ get! _I am through with bullies like you! I have had enough and I will not take it anymore!_ Outside, Mabrey. _Now!_ " Mia turned to Joseph then and told him, "Joe, since it'll be a girl going up against a guy, I may need a little backup, so come with me." Mia started angrily stomping out of her office then, and everyone began to call after her.

"No, wait, Mia. _Stop_ ," Clarisse pleaded.

"Mia, honey, you can't do something like this. You just had surgery!" her mother cried out.

"Just hold on a second, Mia. Just calm down. Don't let him do this to you," Andrew said.

"Oh, Your Majesty, please don't get so upset. Please calm down. Don't do this. You're in no condition for anything like this," said Marjorie.

While they were all trying to stop Mia, Lilly walked up to Mia's desk and took off all _her_ jewelry, too! Then she told her, "Hold up a second, Mia. If you're going outside to beat that snake up, then as your best friend, _I_ am coming with you to _help_ you beat him up!"

"Thanks, Lilly," Mia said as she continued to walk closer to the office door.

"Mia, just hold on a second, now," Joe told her, trying in vain to calm her down also. "Just hold on, sweetheart."

In that moment, Mia suddenly became very weak and dizzy and she began to collapse. Thankfully, both Joseph and Andrew caught her and supported her just in the nick of time.

"It's okay, Mia. It's okay. We're here," said Andrew.

"Have you guys got me?" asked Mia.

"Of course we do, sweetheart. We've got you. We're right here and we've got you. It's alright."

"Just give me one more second to get my equilibrium back, guys. I just need one more moment, and then I'll be ready to take care of my business with Mabrey outside."

" _You are not_ doing _anything_ outside, young lady," Clarisse's authoritative voice rang through. "Gentlemen, she needs to sit down. Help her over here to the loveseat."

"Andrew, can you get her over there?" Joseph asked.

"Yes, sir. I can," he replied, and then he helped Mia to the loveseat while Joseph approached Mabrey.

"Viscount, I told you once before that if you ever did anything to hurt my girl, you would answer directly to me. I also told you that whatever crimes I commit against you, I had diplomatic immunity in over forty-six countries, including Puerto Rico. You may not be aware of this, but even though I am no longer the Royal Head of Security, _I still_ have diplomatic immunity in over forty-six countries and will have it for the rest of my life. It's a perk that comes with the job."

Mabrey hadn't been aware of the fact that Joseph, Clarisse, Charlotte, and Sebastian had all been standing right outside Mia's office in the foyer and had heard everything he'd been saying, but he knew it right then and there that he'd just made a _very_ big mistake. He tried in vain to save himself then, saying, "Your Majesty, I sincerely apologize for upsetting you."

Joseph locked his eyes with Mabrey and told him, "You're too late, Viscount. The moment my granddaughter nearly collapsed, it officially became _way_ too late for apologies." He then grabbed Mabrey by the collar and started practically _dragging_ him outside. Once they were outside at the top of the steps leading up to the front of the palace, Joseph said, "Under normal circumstances, I'd take my time with you, and I'd do as much physiological damage as I could. However, I need to get back inside as quickly as possible because my granddaughter needs me now. Therefore, I'll be brief."

Joseph then gave Mabrey the hardest punch he had _ever_ given _anyone_ before in his entire life – which was _also_ the hardest punch Mabrey had ever _received_ from anyone before in _his_ life – and as a result of that fast but _very_ hard blow to the face, Mabrey fell backwards down the palace steps, onto his rear – where he remained for quite a while because of the pain. Without another word, Joseph left Mabrey where he fell and walked back inside.

"Marjorie, will you go and get Dr. Mackenzie in here, please?" asked Clarisse the moment Joseph came back into Mia's office.

"Of course, Your Majesty," she responded.

"I don't need Dr. Mackenzie, Grandma," Mia insisted. "I'm fine. _What I need_ is to go outside and deck Mabrey!"

"I already did," Joseph announced.

"Well I want to deck him too!" Mia said aloud.

"Darling, _forget_ about Mabrey. He doesn't matter now," said Clarisse.

"And I don't need a doctor," she stubbornly argued.

"Mia, _you almost fainted_ ," Clarisse told her.

" _I did not_ almost faint. I got a teeny, tiny bit dizzy for _one fraction_ of _one second_. The sight of Mabrey's ugly face has that effect on me."

"Yeah, that and getting your body bombarded with radiation for three days straight – _right after_ having major surgery," said Lilly.

"Oh Lilly, Grandma, you guys are just being dramatic," Mia said to them, and as she continued to argue with everyone, something _extraordinary_ began to happen to Andrew.

Andrew's natural father, William Jacoby, the former Duke of Kenilworth, and his wife, Andrew's mother Emma, were tragically killed in a plane crash when Andrew was only a baby, and upon their deaths, the title had passed to him as an infant. Andrew was then adopted by the wealthy Arnold Hurst and his wife Susan, and while they had provided for all of Andrew's physical and material needs abundantly well, they were never there for him emotionally. He was sent away to boarding school for most of his life as he was growing up, and they rarely bothered to even call or write to him while he was gone. Since then, even though things hadn't worked out between him and Mia romantically, as a friend, Mia had shown him more caring and concern than his own adoptive parents ever did, and that touched him deeply. There hadn't ever been any real romantic chemistry between them, but they had grown considerably closer and they really cared about each other.

However, in those moments, it all began to _truly_ dawn on Andrew just how remarkable Mia really was. She was as sweet as she could be, of course, and he'd always known that, but when someone whose own parents couldn't even be bothered to communicate with him while he was in boarding school saw just how deeply this young lady cared about her grandmother, about her family, something important inside Andrew changed. When he saw that this young lady who had _just_ had a hysterectomy _and_ radiation, had only _recently_ been in a battle against _cancer_ and had her fertility taken away from her, loved her grandma so much that she was willing to put all that aside and _get in a physical fight even in her weakened state_ to stand up for a member of her family, suddenly, he fell head over heels in love with Mia Thermopolis. He had felt a certain degree of attraction for the girlfriends he'd had in the past, but it was nothing, _nothing_ , compared to what he was feeling now as he began to understand just how loving, strong, passionate, and _heroic_ Mia was. In those moments, he would have climbed the highest mountain and dived into the deepest ocean and run thousands of miles for Mia if it would make her happy. There was no doubt about it now. Maybe there hadn't been any chemistry between them in the past, but today, Andrew Jacoby was _hopelessly_ in love with Mia. _He. Was. In. Love!_

"No, Mia, _we are not_ being dramatic," Helen disagreed.

"It was not major surgery, Lilly," said Mia. "Heart surgery is major surgery. Brain surgery is major surgery. This was minor surgery."

" _You lost an organ for crying out loud!_ " Lilly cried out. "My grandpa's bunion surgery was minor surgery. A full hysterectomy is _not_ minor surgery."

"It was _medium_ surgery, then," Mia told Lilly.

"It was major enough," said Clarisse. "And after all your body has been through recently, stress is the _last_ thing you need. Now you are going sit here and relax. You are going to have another nice cup of tea, and then you are going to let Dr. Mackenzie examine you and make sure you are alright, and when he's done examining you, you are going to eat a good lunch. After that, you are going to go upstairs and _you are going_ to get some rest. And above all else, _you will forget_ about that snake, Mabrey. _Is that understood?_ "

"I'll try, Grandma," Mia said with a sigh, unable to figure out _how_ she could possibly forget her anger towards him now.

Andrew came up behind Mia then and started massaging her shoulders. "Don't think about him, love. Just think about this nice, relaxing massage I'm giving you right now."

"And just think about the lovely cup of orange-flavored tea you'll soon be drinking that Brigitte is going to prepare for you," Clarisse said as she made eye contact with Brigitte. There was a special orange-flavored tea they always kept in stock in the kitchen because it was Mia's favorite. (The other tea everyone else had been drinking in Mia's office that day was just ordinary tea and Clarisse wanted Mia to have her favorite instead.)

"Right away, Your Majesty," said Brigitte, and then she curtseyed for Queen Clarisse and left.

"And just think about what a beautiful palace you live in with such gorgeous scenery painted all over the walls," said Helen.

"Think about nice, cute, loveable things, like…I don't know…like puppies and kittens," Lilly suggested.

"Yes," Joseph agreed. "Think about Fat Louie. Think about Maurice."

"Maybe I'll get myself another cat to cheer myself up," Mia joked.

"That's the spirit!" said Sebastian.

Dr. Mackenzie came into the office then, carrying his doctor bag, and after giving Mia a brief examination, he told everyone that he was sure that Mia simply needed to rest and relax. He explained that when Mia was getting ready to physically fight Mabrey, that had sent her body into what was known as the "Fight or Flight Response," which was when a lot of adrenaline is released throughout the body in a dangerous situation, enabling a person to either flee from danger quickly, or to fight to protect herself. He went on to explain that even though Mia was young, her body was in a weakened state right now because of everything she'd just been through with the surgery and radiation, and that her going into Fight or Flight Mode had simply been too much for her body, which was why she nearly collapsed for a moment. He agreed with everyone else, that rest and relaxation were the most important things for Mia now, as was forgetting about Mabrey!

After giving her a small tranquilizer to help her relax, Mia enjoyed her tea and her lunch at Clarisse's insistence as she waited for it to kick in. When Mia was done eating, just to be on the safe side in case she had any more dizzy spells, Joseph and Helen helped her upstairs to her suite, with Clarisse and Lilly following closely behind. They visited with Mia in the living area of her suite for a few minutes, and then the tranquilizer started to take effect so everyone left. Just before Helen and Clarisse left, though, they each gave her a very big hug and told her how much they loved her, which went a long way in helping Mia's mood and helping her to forget about Mabrey. Thankfully it was not Mabrey's venomous words, but her mother's and her grandmother's words of love that she remembered the most as she drifted off into a pleasant sleep.


	13. Amber

**Chapter 13: Amber**

A little while after Mia woke up from her long nap that evening, Clarisse came to her suite to see how she was doing. Once they were seated on Mia's loveseat together, Mia told her grandma, "Okay, Grandma. Let me have it now."

Clarisse, confused, asked, "Let you have what, darling?"

"You know. The whole, 'We're held to higher standards of behavior' lecture you always preach at me whenever I lose it the way I lost it with Mabrey today."

It hurt Clarisse's heart in that moment to think that Mia was honestly expecting her to get mad at her. It reminded Clarisse once again that she still had some work to do in their relationship; that because of the way she'd always been the Queen and never Grandma in the past, Mia still needed a lot of reassurance from her that she _did_ in fact care more about _Mia_ than she cared about Mia's royal position and how well Mia performed as a royal. In that moment, the grandma in Clarisse ached to put her arms around her granddaughter and just hold her close for a while, but the queen in her objected to such a display of her emotions, even though she and Mia were alone now. But then, it dawned on Clarisse that _that_ was the entire problem between them: she had given the queen side of her far too much power when it came to the way she behaved in her relationship with her granddaughter. Through the years, she had allowed the queen part of her to stop her from showing Mia just how deeply she loved her, even though Mia had really _needed_ for her to.

Clarisse decided in that moment that when it came to her relationship with her granddaughter, it was time, _high time_ , for the queen in her _to go_ , and she then decided to let the grandma in her out. To Mia's surprise, a moment later, Clarisse took her in her arms just like the grandma in her was aching to.

"Mia," Clarisse said in a deep, emotional voice, "I was never prouder of you in my life than I was when I saw the way you handled yourself with that snake today, baby. You were right about _everything_ you said. You have had to take _so much_ verbal and emotional abuse from bullies like him all your life, and it is _more_ than understandable that there would come a time when you would _finally_ need to stand up for yourself. I was _so_ proud of you for maintaining your composure with him as long as you did, _especially_ after everything you've just been through. _You were amazing._ And as a grandma, you will _never_ fully know how deeply it touched me that you were willing to compromise your health and your recovery simply to stand up for me. Perhaps you did 'lose it' with that snake today, but even the ever-proper queen in me understands that a person can only take so much. _Mabrey_ is responsible for the scene that happened today, sweetheart. Not you. _Mabrey_ is responsible for his emotionally abusive behavior. _Mabrey_ is responsible for getting you all upset during a time in which you are physically and emotionally vulnerable.

"You see, my love, _that_ was what he was _really_ trying to do all along. He wasn't trying to put me down or hurt my feelings or ruin my day. He may have insulted me, but _you_ were the real target. He merely said what he did because he knew it would upset you and make you angry, and it was his hope and his intention to get you _so_ upset and angry that it would make you ill and obstruct your recovery. Joseph has talked to Shades and his men, and they are going to increase security in the palace from now on, and if Mabrey comes anywhere near here when he's not in session with Parliament, or if Nicholas comes around here trying to stir up any trouble, they are all under strict orders to keep them both away from you at all costs. What happened today is _never_ going to happen again. I won't stand for it. I will not allow anything to get in the way of your recovery. _Nothing_ is more important to me than that."

Mia was quite surprised – _pleasantly_ surprised – by what just happened between her and her grandma. As she smiled up at Clarisse then, she realized just how serious her grandmother really had been when she'd told her that things were going to change between them. In the past, even though Clarisse had never _meant_ to make Mia feel as though she cared more about how well she performed as a royal than she did about what was going on inside her, Clarisse _had_ often made her feel that way. And in the past, Clarisse _certainly_ would never have bothered to put her arms around her and hold her during a difficult time. It had been all she could do to stomach giving her own granddaughter a simple hug. Now though, it seemed as though Clarisse really _was_ serious about tearing down the walls she'd built around her heart, and to Mia, it felt _so_ good for Clarisse to let her in and get close to her like this. It felt _so_ good to be shown just how deeply she really did matter to her grandma.

"Thank you, Grandma. That means a lot."

Clarisse then kissed the top of Mia's head and said, "Dr. Hart said that it would be best for you to take it as easy as you can for the next eight weeks, so I want you to take this time and get as much rest as possible. I don't want you to worry about anything. Charlotte and Sebastian have already said that they're going to take care of all political and diplomatic matters for you while you recover, so you don't need to worry about that. And more than anything else, I want you to just ignore and _forget_ about all the snakes in this world like Mabrey and Nicholas Deverat and the von Trokens and _anyone_ else who might have anything mean-spirited to say about your hysterectomy. I want you to promise me that while you're recuperating over these next eight weeks, you won't give them a second thought."

Mia smiled and said, "I promise, Grandma. Don't worry. I won't." Then Mia sat up straight again and told Clarisse, "And I don't want _you_ worrying about anything, either. _You are_ six and a half months pregnant, you know." It was now the first week of March.

Clarisse smiled at Mia's concern and said, "I know, darling. I know. But I'm fine."

"And you need to be sure to remain relaxed through the rest of this pregnancy so that you and our baby can _stay_ fine. And speaking of your pregnancy, I was right about what I said a second ago, wasn't I? You are six and a half months along now, right? How many weeks are you at now? I feel really horrible. I lost track."

Clarisse laughed and told Mia, "Don't feel bad, my love. You've had your plate pretty full here lately. It's understandable that you would forget. I forget myself half the time and I keep having to look at my calendar. I'm at twenty-six weeks now, according to Dr. Hart."

"You're due on the ninth of June," Mia mused. "Hey Grandma, wouldn't it really be something if Isaac didn't come until you were a few days overdue, like on the fourteenth, and he and I ended up having the same birthday?"

"Bite your tongue! I love you, Mia, but _I do not_ want that to happen. I was two weeks late with both your father _and_ your Uncle Pierre and I was _miserable_ both times. Besides, it is quite common for older women to go into labor early, and I'm hoping that'll happen with this one. I mean, not _too_ early, of course. I don't want Isaac to come prematurely, but _I would_ like him to come about a week or two early."

"I understand, Grandma. I don't blame you. Okay, then. We'll hope for an early delivery. Hey Grandma, there's forty weeks in a pregnancy, right?"

"Right."

"And there's four weeks in a month, so how come people say a pregnancy is nine months when it's really ten?"

"Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the funny way it's all calculated. Dr. Hart told me that they start counting the weeks of a pregnancy from the first day of the last period the mother had or something like that."

"I don't mean to get too personal, but…how can Dr. Hart do that with you? You weren't even _having_ any periods."

Clarisse laughed and shook her head and said, "Oh, no! I entered menopause quite a while before you and I even met. But she was able to take a look at Isaac on the ultrasound screen and tell about how old he was, so that's how she's basically guesstimating how far along I am."

"Got you."

In that moment, Clarisse's cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket. "Hold on for one second, sweetheart," she told her as she took it out.

"Of course," said Mia, who was pleased that her grandma was slowly but surely beginning to become more and more comfortable with modern technology now.

"Yes?" said Clarisse. "Wonderful. Mia and I are sitting together in her suite now, so bring the big surprise upstairs."

"Big surprise? _What_ big surprise?" Mia asked as her excited eyes grew wide.

After Clarisse turned off her phone and put it back in her pocket, she replied, "You wait and see. It's on its way here right now."

"Grandma, what are you up to?"

Clarisse smiled and answered, "You'll see."

About a minute later, Brigitta came inside carrying a cat carrier.

"I have a special surprise for you from your grandparents, Your Majesty," she told Mia as she sat the cat carrier down on the coffee table in front of them. "Fat Louie now has a playmate."

"Oh, my gosh!" Mia gasped, and then she opened up the cat carrier and took out a beautiful orange tabby cat with the loveliest pair of amber eyes, and she set the cat on her lap and began to pet it. It seemed to be a pretty pleasant animal, as it immediately took to Mia's affection and started purring.

"Mia, this is Amber. She previously belonged to Charlotte's cousin Alicia, but Alicia is moving within the next couple of weeks and the apartment building she's moving into doesn't allow pets, so Amber needs a new home. Charlotte brought it up after you talked about getting another cat earlier today, and Joseph and I thought it would be a very appropriate welcome home present for you."

"Oh, my gosh! Grandma, this is _so cool!_ " Mia cried out, and Clarisse laughed. "Hi, Amber," she whispered as she petted her. "Hi, Amber. You're such a pretty little girl. Yes, you are. Yes, you are," she told the cat in baby talk. "How old is she?"

"She's a little over a year old. Alicia adopted her from the local animal shelter here in Pyrus when she was just a kitten. She's been spayed and all her vaccinations are up to date, and Alicia sent over her cat bed and all her favorite toys and several cans of her favorite kind of cat food. Charlotte says Amber is very playful but also very sweet and loving."

As Amber continued to nuzzle up against Mia's hand and purr, Mia laughed and said, "I can see that. Aw, Grandma, she's _adorable!_ I just _love_ her eyes."

"Charlotte said that Alicia named her Amber because of the color of her eyes, as a matter of fact."

"I think she has the _perfect_ name."

"I think Fat Louie might get a little jealous for a while, though. He's been the only cat in your life for quite a long time now."

"Yes, well, he'll just have to get over it," Mia said as she lovingly scratched Amber's head."

Clarisse laughed and smiled again as she watched how enamored Mia was quickly becoming with her new cat. It really did her heart a lot of good to do something that brought Mia so much happiness, especially in times like these.

"She really is precious," said Brigitta.

"She is," Clarisse agreed. Then she stood up and said, "Brigitta, come along. I think we should leave these two alone right now and give them a chance to bond."

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said, and then the two of them left.

"Thanks for Amber, Grandma!" Mia called as they were walking out.

"You're more than welcome, my love," Clarisse said just before they walked out.

A couple of hours later, Clarisse and Joseph were lying in bed together talking about the events of the day, and certainly about the newest animal addition to their family.

"It was really something the way it all just came together like that," said Joseph.

"I know. After we got Mia upstairs and got her to lie down, I was going to have Marjorie make a call to the animal shelter and see about surprising her with another cat because I agreed with what you said, that it would probably be a very helpful thing for her right now, as well as being a very appropriate welcome home gift. Then Charlotte overheard us talking about it and told us about Amber. I know Charlotte had other appointments today. It was really sweet of her to cancel everything in order to stay around here and make sure Mia was okay."

"Yes, it was. Charlotte's always an extremely helpful, resourceful person to have around. And I'm happy Mia has Amber now."

"Me too."

They had each been lying flat on their backs, but in that moment, Joseph turned on his side to face Clarisse and he said, "Clarisse, forget about the confrontation with Mabrey and forget about the cat for just a moment. Talk to me. How are _you_ doing right now? I know how hard these past few weeks have been for you. I know how badly it scared you when you found out that Mia was diagnosed with cancer."

"I wasn't just scared, Joseph. I was _terrified._ And deep down, I will _always_ be scared of Mia's cancer coming back. I can't help but feel that way. But I also realize that I cannot give into that fear and spend every waking moment of my life being afraid. I know I have to be strong and move on so that I can help Mia to move on. She may be grown now, but she's still a very young girl in a _very_ tough job in a _very_ harsh world. She still needs me. She still needs _both_ of us."

"And as long as we are breathing, you and I will _always_ be there for her. But my dear, you do _not always_ have to be the strong one. Come here."

"What?"

" _Come here._ I just want to hold you for a minute."

Clarisse laughed and said, "Oh, Joseph." Then she turned on her side and moved in closer to her husband while he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm here, Clarisse. I'm here."

"I know, love. I know. And I'm alright. Yes, I'm still scared, but I _am_ alright. I know you're here with me and I know you're always going to be there for us. I know we're all going to be okay. I don't understand why God chose not to save Philippe, but I still believe He's watching over us, and I believe He sent you to watch over Mia, Isaac, and me, too. I know we're all in good hands."

Joseph was so touched by what Clarisse just said that he really wanted to give her a great big kiss on the mouth, but because of the way they were lying in bed now, he couldn't get to it, so he simply planted a fervent kiss on her cheek.

Joseph's hand went down to Clarisse's round abdomen then, and he felt Isaac kicking up a storm. "Is he at it _again?_ "

Clarisse laughed and said, "He's _always_ at it. _He never_ settles down."

"Isaac, this is your father speaking to you. Calm down and go to sleep now, young man, so your mother can get some rest. That's an order."

Isaac continued kicking away for the next minute or so, and Clarisse laughed and said, "Joseph, my darling, you have a lot to learn about babies."

"Why don't I try a lullaby? Maybe that'll calm him down."

"Why not?"

"What should I sing?"

"I don't know, Joseph. Try anything. Why don't you sing my favorite Elvis song?"

"Alright." Joseph cleared his throat then and sang, "Wise men say…only fools rush in…but I can't help…falling in love with you." Amazingly enough, Isaac's kicking began to slow down then.

Clarisse laughed again and said, "I think it's working. Keep going."

"Shall I stay," Joseph continued to sing. "Would it be a sin…if I can't help falling in love with you?"

Isaac's kicking then came to a complete stop. Clarisse and Joseph waited a few moments to see if he was going to start up again, but thankfully, he didn't.

"Well, what do you know?" Clarisse asked with a smile. "Looks like Isaac just wanted a little attention from his daddy tonight."

"Daddy is happy to oblige. Goodnight, sweetheart," Joseph said as he turned off the light on his side of the bed, and then Clarisse turned off her light. "I love you."

Clarisse smiled and said, "I love you, too," and then she kissed Joseph's hand. Thankfully, it wasn't long before they fell into a nice, restful sleep for the night.


	14. Footsies

**Chapter 14: Footsies**

Surgical menopause. That was the official medical term for it. Menopause, not caused by a woman's natural aging process, but rather, by the surgical removal of her ovaries and the resulting cessation of the production of female hormones in her body. Surgical menopause. On paper, it was a pretty cut-and-dried, self-explanatory term. But in real life, it was _a lot_ more complicated.

Three weeks after coming home from the hospital following her hysterectomy, Mia laid on her bed with the thermostat in her suite turned down to sixty-five degrees, crying tears of fury and despair at what she was having to go through. She was twenty-one years-old. _Twenty-one!_ And yet here she was on this spring day, lying on her bed, having not only very strong mood swings, but also _hot flashes!_ It was so ridiculous! _So embarrassing!_ And the _last_ thing she wanted was for her grandparents or anyone else in the palace to find out about it. It would simply be too humiliating if anyone knew.

However, Mia's secret wasn't going to remain a secret for very much longer. Everyone was very concerned about her, especially Clarisse and Joseph. Mia had been _so_ emotional lately, and her strong, sudden mood swings were not something that had gone unnoticed by everybody. No one said anything to her about it though, of course. They all assumed that it was simply a result of everything she'd just gone through with the cancer, hysterectomy, and radiation treatment, and they decided to simply back off and give Mia some space to work through it. Clarisse wanted to try to get Mia to open up to her about it all, but she took her husband's advice instead and decided to simply wait and let Mia come to her on her own terms, when _she_ felt ready to talk about it. But when Clarisse walked into Mia's suite that morning to say hello to her granddaughter and see how she was doing that day, and when she felt how freezing cold it was and saw the temperature Mia had the thermostat set on, and when she went to turn the temperature up, let's just say that something unpleasant hit the fan.

"Goodness gracious, Mia! It is _freezing_ in here. Let's turn the temperature up before you give yourself a cold, alright?" Clarisse said innocently as she turned up the thermostat.

Mia then wiped the tears from her eyes, got up from her bed, angrily stomped over to her grandma, and yelled, "What did you do that for?! Don't I have any rights in this palace?! _I am_ the Queen, after all! And if the Queen wants it to be sixty-five degrees in her own suite, then she should be able to put _her own thermostat_ on sixty-five degrees!" Mia then turned the temperature back down.

"Darling, calm down. I didn't mean to upset you," Clarisse said calmly. "I just don't want you to make yourself ill being in a suite that's as cold as the North Pole."

"Well maybe I like the North Pole! Maybe I want to just leave Genovia and move to the North Pole and build myself an igloo and live like an Eskimo for the rest of my life! Or maybe I want to move to Antarctica! And if I do, so what?!"

Even though her granddaughter was raising her voice to her, Clarisse did not get offended. She didn't know that Mia was going through surgical menopause, but she did know that Mia's ovaries had been removed along with her uterus and fallopian tubes, and she figured it was probably causing some big fluctuations with her hormones right now. Clarisse could see that Mia was clearly not in control of her emotions at the moment, so even though Mia was yelling at her, she didn't take it personally.

Clarisse lovingly smiled at Mia, tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, and told her, "If you were to move to the North Pole or Antarctica, I would really miss you, and I wouldn't be the only one."

Tears came to Mia's eyes then, and she furiously wiped them away with her hand and said, "Grandma, please, just leave me alone now. Just get out. Just go away. Please."

Okay, now _that_ stung. Mia's previous yelling hadn't really upset Clarisse too much, but it _did_ hurt her a little bit when Mia told her to get out and go away.

"Very well," Clarisse said quietly. "If you want me to leave, I'll leave." Clarisse then started to walk out of Mia's suite, but just before she left, she turned and said, "But I hope you won't keep your thermostat on that temperature for too much longer. After all you've just been through, you don't a cold right now."

In that moment, after Clarisse walked out, Mia jumped back onto her bed and started sobbing.

Meanwhile, Clarisse went back to her own suite and sat down on the couch and had a little cry of her own. Ordinarily, her little spat with Mia wouldn't have brought tears to her eyes, but of course, these _weren't_ ordinary conditions. _She was_ just over seven months pregnant now, so it really got to her a lot more than it would have otherwise. In her mind, naturally, Clarisse knew that whatever was going on with Mia was probably connected to her hysterectomy and the resulting changes it made to her body, but her heart was still hurt and upset about what had just happened between them.

In that moment, Joseph walked into the living area of their suite and the second Clarisse saw him, she quickly wiped away her tears. However, it wasn't enough to prevent Joseph from deducing the fact that she'd just been crying.

He sat down next to her then, put his arm around her shoulders, and said gently, "Hey, hey, hey. What's all this? What's wrong?"

Clarisse shook her head and replied, "Nothing, Joseph. Just pregnancy hormones. That's all."

"Talk to me, Clarisse. What is it? What's got you so distraught?"

"I'm not distraught. I may be a little emotional right now, but I'm not distraught. I'm alright."

"Did somebody upset you?"

"It was nothing. As I said, I'm just a little overemotional today. It's these dreadful hormones."

"Who upset you, sweetheart? What happened?"

Knowing then that Joseph simply would not give up, she told him, "I just had a little bit of a spat with Mia a minute ago, that's all. And I just got a bit teary-eyed because when you're seven months pregnant at _my_ age, your emotions get a little out of control sometimes. It's nothing, Joseph. I'll be alright. I just need a minute or two."

Joseph knew that Mia had been through a very great deal over the past several weeks and he understood that she was having a rough time now, but that still didn't give her the right to make Clarisse so upset, _especially_ with her going through a high-risk pregnancy. Even though things were difficult for her, she still needed to remember to be respectful of the feelings of the people around her, and she _definitely_ needed to remember to be sensitive to her grandma's feelings at a time like this. After all, Clarisse was going through an awful lot, herself. Joseph loved his granddaughter dearly, but he couldn't help but feel a little angry at her now for upsetting Clarisse so.

"I'm going to go have a talk with that young lady," he said rather sternly, which worried Clarisse. Even though Mia had upset her, Clarisse still wasn't angry at her and she didn't want Joseph to be angry at her, either. And besides, Clarisse knew that as emotional as Mia was right now, the _last_ thing either one of them needed was for Joseph to have an angry confrontation with her. That would only make the situation _so_ much worse.

"No, Joseph, don't. Please don't. I think the best thing, the _only_ thing, you and I can do right now, is to simply leave Mia alone for a little while and give her a chance to calm down."

"I don't know _what's_ wrong with Mia now, but _whatever_ is going on, I won't allow her to upset you like this."

"If you want to do something for me now, then please, _please_ , just leave everything alone for the time being. You can talk to her later if you feel you must, but not right now. Just wait a little while. Please. Just give her a chance to settle down first."

Joseph's face softened in that moment as he looked into his wife's pleading eyes, and he said, "Okay, darling." Then he gave her a big, loving kiss. "If it'll make you feel better, I won't say anything just yet. I'll give her some time and some space."

"Thank you," Clarisse said, and then she leaned back and settled into Joseph's warm embrace, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Then Joseph kissed the top of Clarisse's head and told her, "It's going to be alright, sweetheart. It's going to be okay."

"I know, Joseph. I know."

In the meantime, for the next half hour or so, Mia continued to cry out all her anger and her frustration, and then after she managed to calm down a little, her conscience started getting to her. She certainly hadn't _meant_ to be rude to her grandma a little while ago. It had simply happened because her emotions were upside down, inside out, and topsy-turvy. However, Mia was well aware of the fact that Clarisse was dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, and she knew her grandma did not need or deserve to be treated rudely, especially now. After debating the issue with herself for the next half hour, Mia eventually decided that as embarrassing as it was for her to talk about it, her grandparents deserved to know the truth about why she'd been acting so crazy lately, and that they deserved to know she wasn't just trying to be a rotten jerk to them.

So without further ado, once she made her mind up to talk to them, she got up off her bed and walked into their suite, and when she found them sitting together on the couch, she sat down in between them and just basically spat it out without even saying hello.

"It's called surgical menopause," she said to them.

"What?" said Joseph.

"Let her talk," Clarisse told him.

"Sorry, Mia. Go on."

"When Dr. Hart performed my hysterectomy a few weeks ago, she took out everything: my uterus, my fallopian tubes, _and_ my ovaries. And without ovaries there to produce the necessary female hormones, a woman's body goes into menopause, _regardless_ of how old she is. The official medical term for it is called surgical menopause. Even though I am twenty-one years-old, I am now having hot flashes, night sweats, and the _wildest_ mood swings I have ever had before in my entire life. And I didn't say anything about it because I was too embarrassed. It is _so_ humiliating to be a twenty-one-year-old girl having hot flashes. And the mood swings are even _more_ embarrassing. I hate myself. I hate my uterus for being defective and getting me in this ridiculous mess. I hate being a woman. I hate my life. I hate the world. And, I just flat out hate my body in general. Now, if you both will excuse me, I'm going back to my suite so I can pout about all this some more. Goodbye."

Mia got up in that moment and started to walk out, and just before she left, Clarisse called, "I love you!"

"I love you too, Grandma," Mia said as she walked out.

"Surgical menopause," Joseph said quietly. "Poor dear. No wonder she's been so emotional here lately." Now that Joseph knew the truth about what was really going on with Mia, his irritation at her dissipated. He only wished there was something he could do to make it all better for her. She had already been through so much and now she was having to go through all of this as well. It was terribly unfair, and he really did feel for her now.

Clarisse shook her head at herself and said, "You know, Joseph, I did hours and hours of research about cancer on the Internet, but I never once thought to do any research about what a woman goes through after a hysterectomy. When it comes to medical matters, I am utterly clueless. I knew that this would have some kind of effect on Mia's hormones, but I never stopped to think about how her surgery would basically be sending her body into early menopause."

Joseph put his hand on top of Clarisse's and told her, "Don't feel too bad about it, love. I was the exact same way. I was so busy worrying about the cancer that I never stopped to think about the whole hysterectomy aspect of it. I mean, I knew it would be painful for her to lose the ability to have children, but I never thought about everything else it would be causing her to go through."

"Well the _good_ news is, now that I know what's wrong, it'll be easier for me to be there for her." Clarisse got up then, and Joseph got up with her, and she told him, "I'm going to go have a little talk with her."

Joseph gave her a kiss and said, "Very well, dear. I'll be along in a minute. I'd like to talk to her, too."

"You're not going to get on her case about what happened earlier, are you?"

"No, no. I'm just going to tell her that she doesn't have to be embarrassed about what's happening to her right now."

"I'm going to tell her the same thing. Maybe it'll be good for her to hear it from both of us."

"I'll let you ladies talk for a minute first before I come in, though."

"Alright, Joseph," Clarisse said as she walked out of their suite.

When Clarisse came into Mia's suite, she found her granddaughter lying on her bed with a couple of silent tears streaming down her face. She sat down on the side of Mia's bed a moment later, grabbed a couple of tissues out of the box on her nightstand, and started drying her tears.

"Don't bother, Grandma," Mia sighed. "There'll be more tears before you know it. I am _so_ messed up right now. _I am insane._ I am losing my mind."

"No, you're not, sweetie. I know that's how it _feels_ right now, but I promise you, _you are_ perfectly sane, and _you will_ get through this. I went through it myself, so I speak from experience. Just keep telling yourself the same thing I always told myself when it was happening to me: this too shall pass. And besides, we can always speak to Dr. Mackenzie or Dr. Hart about this hormone replacement therapy thing that people are talking about nowadays. I've never gone on it myself, but it might make things easier for you."

"Actually, I already talked to Dr. Hart about it. HRT increases your chances for getting breast cancer, so I decided against it. I was too afraid to risk it. _One_ battle with cancer is enough for one lifetime."

"Oh, absolutely. I didn't know HRT increased a woman's chances of getting breast cancer. Well in that case, I am _very_ relieved that you decided not to go on HRT. You're right. You cannot take that kind of a chance. But is there anything else that can be done to help you?"

"Dr. Hart put me on a combination of vitamins, supplements, and an antidepressant to help stabilize my mood and ease my other symptoms, but she says it could take a while to find the right combination. In the meantime, I guess I just have to be a crazy, insane, menopausal freak."

"You are no such thing, and don't you ever say anything like that to me again. You are not crazy. You are not insane. And above all else, _you are not a freak._ You are a beautiful, gorgeous, intelligent, compassionate, _priceless_ young lady."

It was in that moment that Joseph quietly walked in, unbeknownst to either of them. He could tell they were still engrossed in their conversation with each other, so he stayed behind in the small foyer of Mia's suite to give them some privacy until it was a better time for him to enter the discussion.

A few seconds after Joseph came in, Mia suddenly burst into tears once again, and she told her grandmother, "No, I'm not. I'm not any of those nice, wonderful things you said. I'm terrible! I'm the worst, most horrible granddaughter _ever!_ Oh Grandma, I'm so sorry I was so mean to you today!"

"Oh, Mia," Clarisse said as she took her poor sobbing granddaughter into her arms. "Honey, you couldn't be a bad granddaughter if you tried. You weren't horrible or terrible earlier today, my love. You were just _human._ Losing your ovaries and the hormones they produce is quite a shock to your system, and your body simply needs time in order to adjust. Dr. Hart will find the right combination of medication to help you. I know from experience how hard this is. I went through the same thing years ago and when it happened to me, I honestly thought I was losing my mind, too."

"I bet you didn't have mood swings as wild as mine."

"Oh, yes I did!" Clarisse said with a laugh, and then their embrace ended, but Mia remained sitting up in bed, face to face with her grandma. "If your father or your Grandfather Rupert were still with us, they could _both_ tell you that _I did_ have _plenty_ of crazy mood swings. I managed to maintain my composure for the most part during all my appointments and appearances I had to get through during the day as Queen, but there were also _many_ times when I had to excuse myself, go to the nearest bathroom, and just cry my eyes out for a couple of minutes. And when the workday was over and I was on my own time with Rupert and Philippe, they drove me crazy and I drove them equally crazy. I would start crying if Rupert wore a red tie and not a blue one. I would get angry if I thought Rupert shut a door too loudly. And when your father played his favorite music by Beethoven, the mere sound of it would make me burst into tears. It was a real roller coaster ride, but I got through it and you will get through it, too."

"I hope so."

"You will," Clarisse said as she squeezed Mia's hand. "Trust me." Mia laughed in that moment, and then Clarisse laughed with her and asked, "What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking about how the human race always seems to think that women are the weaker sex. We have to go through _so much._ We have to go through the discomforts of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth. We have to get our emotions messed with all the time by the hormones of pregnancy. And then as if that weren't enough, we have to get our emotions messed with all over again with menopause. _Men never_ have to go through anything like that. Their hormones pretty much stay the same all through their lives, so they _never_ get their emotions messed with. _They never_ have to put up with fluctuating hormones, and they _certainly_ never have to pass a seven- or eight-pound baby through their groin! Men have it _so soft._ And yet people think _men_ are stronger than women?"

Clarisse laughed and said, "I know exactly what you mean. When I was going through menopause, Rupert just patronized me, as if I were a little child. He thought that my emotional mood swings were just me being a weak little woman, and _nothing_ made me angrier than having to put up with that kind of an attitude from him. He was the same way when I was pregnant with your father and your Uncle Pierre and having mood swings. To say the least, it was _extremely_ unhelpful."

"That's terrible. But thankfully, now you have Grandpa Joe to help you through this pregnancy, and I know he would never treat you that way."

"Oh, no. Of course not. Thanks to Joseph, even though I'm so much older now, I can honestly say that I've actually enjoyed this pregnancy more than any other. He is so sweet. So caring. So sensitive. With Rupert, he was always so engrossed in his role as King of Genovia that I never really felt like I could talk to him about my morning sickness or cravings, and I definitely never felt like I could ask him to rub my back or my feet. It always felt as though with him running the country, those kinds of problems were too trivial for me to trouble him with. But with Joseph, it's the exact opposite."

"Yeah. I bet Grandpa's always doing all kinds of things to take care of you now. I bet he's always giving you back rubs and bringing you bananas."

"Well he _is_ always making sure I have plenty of bananas. You're right about that. And when I actually _tell_ him about it when I'm having a backache, he does give me a massage. But the truth is, ever since a couple of weeks ago, my back _has_ been in a considerable amount of pain. It comes with the territory when you're an older pregnant woman. I just don't tell Joseph because when it comes to my pregnancy, he is _so_ sensitive and he worries about me _so_ much. If he honestly knew how much I pain I was actually in with my back and my swollen feet all the time, it would really upset him. Besides, I'm a tough old girl. I ruled an entire country all by myself for years. I can handle a little backache and swelling."

"Hey, you shouldn't have to handle it all on your own. Kick your shoes off, Grandma. Come aboard," Mia told Clarisse as she got up from the bed.

"Why?"

"Lie down on your side. I'm giving you a massage."

"Oh, Mia, that's really not necessary."

Mia folded her arms then and said, "If you don't, I'm going to have another mood swing and start sobbing again, and when Grandpa asks me what's wrong, I'm going to tell him it's all your fault because you wouldn't let me massage your aching back."

Clarisse rolled her eyes at her granddaughter's silliness, but then as she looked into Mia's eyes, she could tell that she was going to be stubborn about it. And the truth was, she knew she really _could_ use a massage right now, so she grudgingly said, "Very well," and laid down on her side.

"Where is the pain the worst?"

"My middle back."

"Okay, then," Mia said, and then she bent over and started gently rubbing the middle of Clarisse's back. "How's that?"

"A little harder." Mia didn't want to press into her back too hard and cause her _more_ pain, of course, but she started rubbing a little bit harder like Clarisse asked. She knew she was doing it right when Clarisse suddenly cried out, "Oh, that feels so good! Oh, that's such a big help. Oh, that feels good. A little more to the right." Mia moved one of her hands to the right then and continued massaging, and Clarisse said, "Yes, that's it. That's it. Oh, God bless you, sweet child!" When Clarisse said that, Mia giggled. "Yes! That's wonderful!"

"I'm glad. Boy, I just can't get over the insanity of this whole thing. _You're_ pregnant and _I'm_ going through menopause!" Mia said as she continued massaging.

"Mia, I learned long ago that life on earth itself is a purely insane thing. _Life_ is _always_ insane. You just have to get used to it."

"After going from an ordinary girl to a royal princess, nearly being forced into an arranged marriage, going through a royal engagement, ascending the throne of our country and becoming a queen, getting diagnosed with uterine cancer, going through a hysterectomy, and _now_ going through menopause at age twenty-one, I'm beginning to see that."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, darling. I know going through menopause at your age embarrasses you, but it is nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I know, Grandma. It just makes me feel like such a freak."

"You just remember what I told you earlier. You are absolutely _not_ a freak. You are a very dear, very special young lady."

"Thank you. I'll remember."

"And _thank you_ for this _incredible_ massage! I am in _heaven_ right now!"

Mia laughed again and said, "I'm glad it's helping, Grandma."

In that moment, Joseph walked out of the foyer of Mia's suite and went back to his and Clarisse's suite, worried about what he'd just learned.

About twenty minutes later, Clarisse returned to their suite, and Joseph was sitting on the couch in their living room.

"Clarisse, I have an announcement to make to you."

"Oh? What's that?"

"You said earlier in this pregnancy that it was going to be a very strict dictatorship ruled by you. Well I'm letting you know that as if this moment, there is going to be a _new_ dictator: _me._ "

Clarisse laughed and said, " _You?_ "

"Yes, that's right. Me. From now on, _I_ am making all the rules and all the decisions and if you dare to try to disobey me, I will be merciless."

Joseph's facial expressions gave away nothing. It truly sounded as though he really meant every word he was saying to Clarisse. However, Clarisse could tell by the twinkle in his eyes that he was actually playing a loving kind of joke on her.

Clarisse put her hands on her hips then and said, "Oh, really?" She wasn't buying it, of course.

"Yes, really."

"And _what_ , pray tell, will you do to me if I dare to try to disobey you?"

"I'll give you a tickle torture."

"A tickle torture, huh? You're forgetting one thing, Mr. Dictator Wannabe."

"What's that?"

"I'm not ticklish anywhere."

"We'll see about that. My first command to you as your dictator is that from now on, _you must always_ tell me about it whenever your back or your feet hurt."

Clarisse's face really softened then, and she took her hands down from her hips. She'd gotten so caught up in her conversation with Mia that she'd forgotten that Joseph had planned to come and talk to her too. She realized then that he must've overheard it when she told Mia about how much pain she'd been in with her back and how she'd kept it from him.

"Oh, Joseph," she said softly.

"I'm not finished. Since Mia rubbed your back in there but not your feet, my second command to you is that you must sit down next to me, take your shoes off, put your little footsies up on my lap, and let me massage them."

Clarisse laughed and said once again, "Oh, Joseph!"

"And my third command to you is that you must report to me at least four times a day for back rubs and feet rubs."

Again, Clarisse laughed, and she rolled her eyes and cried out, "Oh, Joseph!"

"Don't roll your eyes at your dictator, young lady. It's disrespectful." However, in that moment, Clarisse _did_ roll her eyes at Joseph a second time. "Alright, Clarisse. You're asking for it."

"I'm asking for what?"

"The tickle torture. The rest of you may not be all that ticklish, but after we got married, I soon discovered a spot on you that happens to be _very_ ticklish."

In that moment, Clarisse knew exactly what her husband was talking about. "Joseph John Romero, _you wouldn't dare!_ " A second later, Joseph did _not_ hesitate to reach around his wife and start _mercilessly_ tickling her rear! Clarisse couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then she slapped Joseph's hand away from her behind and yelled, " _Joseph, cut that out!_ "

Joseph then patted his lap with both hands and said, "Footsies."

Clarisse rolled her eyes a third time, and then, knowing she'd officially lost, she sat down beside Joseph and said, "Alright, alright. You win. Footsies." A moment later, she took her shoes off, put her feet up in Joseph's lap, and started enjoying his _wonderful_ foot massage. While he went to work on her feet, he said, "Clarisse, _will you please_ stop being so tough all the time? I'm your husband. I love you. I want to take care of you. Will you _please_ do that for me? Will you just let me take care of you now?"

Clarisse was so touched by all of Joseph's concern for her in that moment that she very nearly cried again. Then she smiled, cupped his cheek in her hand, and told him, "I will, sweetheart. I will."


	15. A Day at the Spa

**Chapter 15: A Day at the Spa**

It was now the last week of April. Clarisse was now entering week thirty-four of her pregnancy, and Mia was preparing to step back into her role as Queen of Genovia. It would be a little over a week before she began to take on her full workload as Queen again, but in the meantime, she had started to resume a few of her duties. For one thing, throughout her recovery, she had remained diligent about staying caught up on all her paperwork. While she typically hated it, she found she hated it even worse not being able to be as active as she'd been before her surgery, and staying caught up on her usual mountain of paperwork had actually made her feel good, like she was doing something at least a little productive with her time. Also for the past week or so, even though Clarisse protested against it out of fear that Mia was taking things too quickly, Mia had allowed Marjorie to start scheduling a few teas and lunches with Sebastian, Parliament members, and other diplomats from around the world to discuss Genovian political matters. _Mercifully_ for Mia – _and_ for everybody else around her – she had really begun to feel much more like her old self again for about the past week since Dr. Mackenzie and Dr. Hart decided to change the antidepressant she was taking. Thankfully, it seemed her doctors did successfully manage to strike the right combination of vitamins, supplements, and an antidepressant to help Mia's body adjust to surgical menopause and stabilize her mood, and everyone noticed that it really worked wonders. And ever since the new combination of medication began working for Mia and she started to feel more like herself, she had decided that she wanted to return to her duties once again, at least part-time, until she was physically at one hundred percent. And although Clarisse had her concerns, Dr. Mackenzie and Dr. Hart agreed that as long as Mia felt up to it and wanted to do it, it probably would do her some good.

Today, however, Mia was not doing anything politically or diplomatically related. She had officially decreed that today was to be designated a day of pampering for her and her grandmother at the spa. They didn't actually _go_ to a spa, though. Mia had Marjorie make the necessary arrangements, and for today, the spa was brought to the palace. The palace already had its own "beauty shop" type of room with salon chairs, sinks, and hair dryers where Paolo or another hairdresser would style Mia's and Clarisse's hair, do their nails, and other things to get them prepared for formal royal events. The room was quite spacious, and like most other rooms in the palace, it too had gorgeous scenery painted all over the walls. And thankfully, today, there was plenty of room in there for the two special tables that were brought in for Mia and Clarisse to lie down on for massages.

The two queens would begin the day by getting facials. Then, they were going to relax for a good long while in a nice special oatmeal bath that they were assured would be soothing to the sensitive skin that they both had (and that Clarisse was assured by Dr. Hart would be safe for a pregnant woman.) After the oatmeal baths, they were going to be treated to manicures and pedicures, and finally, at the end of the day, the ladies were scheduled for some good, long, relaxing massages.

When Joseph first heard about Mia's and Marjorie's plans and preparations for their day at the "spa," at first, he was all for it. Being a guy, he had no idea why it was necessary for the women in his family to put a bunch of green goop all over their faces and soak in oatmeal. As a man, he had no idea why women did _a lot_ of the things they did. However, if putting green goop on her face and taking an oatmeal bath helped Clarisse to relax and if it made her feel good and she enjoyed it, he wouldn't question it. After all his wife and his granddaughter had been through, heaven knew they needed and had _earned_ this day of pampering for themselves, and Joseph was more than happy to see it. More than anything, _he wanted_ Clarisse and Mia to pamper themselves and do things to help them relax now.

However, when Joseph saw _who_ it actually was that would be _giving_ his wife a facial, manicure, pedicure, and _especially a massage_ , let's just say that he was less than thrilled. As Clarisse and Mia sat in the salon chairs waiting for the workers from the local day spa to arrive, and as Joseph stood guard just outside the room with Shades, they really hadn't known what to expect. And when the spa workers _did_ arrive – and when everyone saw just how tall, tan, muscular, and downright _sexy_ they were – the ladies _loved_ it, Shades was flabbergasted, and _Joseph?_ Again, let's just say he was less than thrilled.

The three men from the day spa who came to the palace that day were Jacques Beaumont, André Lopez, and George Davis, and _they were hunks!_ André was Latino; his family had moved to Genovia from Spain some time ago, and he had curly brown hair, gorgeous brown eyes, and an even _more_ gorgeous golden-brown tan. George had a similarly perfect tan and perfect muscular physique, and he had the cutest sandy blonde hair and amber eyes. However, Jacques was, without a doubt, _the hottest_ hunk of the whole trio. He had moved to Genovia from France a couple of years ago after his divorce, and he had the heaviest, _sexiest_ French accent Mia had _ever_ heard. He had jet black hair, piercing sky-blue eyes, the _perfect_ tan, and he was easily the most muscular of the group. His body and his face were _so gorgeous_ and _so hot_ , it was almost _painful!_

And when, after introducing the other two men, he kissed Mia's hand, looked into his eyes, and told her, "Jacques Beaumont, delighted to be at your service today… _Your Sexy Majesty_ ," Mia was _done._ There was no way she could even _begin_ to fight off the feelings of a crush on him, even if she _wanted_ to, which of course, she _certainly_ did not! However, even though Mia _definitely_ enjoyed being flirted with by _such_ a _hunk_ , neither Joseph nor Shades were pleased with the "Your Sexy Majesty" comment. They both felt that even though Mia certainly was a very beautiful, attractive young woman, such a forward comment as that was an inappropriate, almost disrespectful way to address their Queen, and they didn't like it – _or him_. And they were both grateful that he was only going to be at the palace with the ladies for this one day.

"Jacques, _you_ will be taking care of _me_ today, _and me only._ Grandma, you can have the other two. I want Jacques all to myself," Mia announced right after Jacques kissed her hand, and Clarisse laughed.

Clarisse took a good long look at the sexy George and André then and said, "I think I can manage. I think I will be _just fine._ " Hearing Clarisse say that, knowing that she was talking about George and André, made Joe growl under his breath – which did not go unnoticed by Shades.

"You will never know how happy it makes me that you've chosen me to serve you today… _Your Sexiness_ ," Jacques said, and then he kissed Mia's hand once again…making Mia want to swoon! (It also made Joe want to punch him for getting so fresh with his little girl.)

A few minutes into their facials, they all got to talking about their pets. As it turned out, all three of the hunks were animal lovers, just like the queens were. André loved horses, George loved dogs, and as luck would have it, Jacques was just as much of a cat lover as Mia was. Jacques explained that when he first moved to Genovia after his divorce, he soon adopted a cat from the animal shelter to keep him company.

Mia laughed at that and said, "Oh, come on! You did not! You _do not_ need a cat to keep you company! You probably had women beating down your door by the dozens!"

"I am perfectly serious, Your Sexy Majesty."

" _You are perfectly silly_ ," Mia teased.

" _He is_ perfectly silly," George agreed. "However, he actually _is_ telling you the truth. He really _does_ have a cat."

"Are you for real, George?" asked Mia.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm for real," George replied.

"Do you want to see a picture of him, Your Sexiness?" asked Jacques.

"Sure. I'd love to," Mia answered, and then Jacques took out his cell phone and pulled up several pictures of his silver tabby cat and showed them to Mia. "Aw! Your kitty's so cute! Is it a boy or a girl?"

"He's a boy. I adopted him when he was just a baby. I named him Luc after my little brother."

"Aw," Mia said, and then she handed back his cell phone. "Luc is adorable. Has he been neutered, or is he as dangerous to the female half of the feline population as you are to all of womankind in Genovia?" she teased, and everyone laughed.

"Oh yes, Luc is safe. I had him neutered quite some time ago."

"My Amber and Fat Louie are safe, too. They've also been spayed and neutered. And speaking of my cats, Fat Louie wasn't too thrilled at first when Amber joined our family a few weeks ago, but now, he gets along with her pretty well. It took him a little bit of time to get used to the fact that he wasn't going to be the only cat in the family anymore, but he did eventually warm up to her. They're always playing with each other now."

"I am happy to hear that," Jacques told Mia. "Perhaps you could bring them over to my apartment sometime and introduce them to Luc. It would do him good to make some new friends." Again, Shades could see the look of concern, displeasure, and even anger in Joseph's eyes. Mia may have enjoyed being flirted with by such a hunk, but Joseph felt that for a common man who had only just met the Queen in person a short while ago, he was getting far too familiar and fresh with her. A young man who was, in all actuality, a complete _stranger_ to the Queen, was basically inviting her over to his apartment – _practically hitting on her._ Deep down in his gut, Joseph didn't like it.

"Well that _is_ a tempting offer, but as Queen, it's not exactly _easy_ for me to leave the palace. Why don't you bring Luc over here sometime and we can let him spend the day playing with Fat Louie and Amber." Joseph really, _really_ did not like _that._

"Nothing would give me more pleasure, Your Sexy Majesty," Jacques shamelessly flirted, and Mia laughed.

Mia was clearly enjoying all the attention a hunk like Jacques was giving to her, and as a woman herself, Clarisse could hardly blame her. What woman _wouldn't_ enjoy being flirted with by such a _gorgeous_ Frenchman? And Mia had just been through _so much_ with her cancer and her surgery, so Clarisse really _couldn't_ get angry or upset with her like she might have in the old days for not maintaining her composure better and allowing so much of her feelings to show. However, it _was_ inappropriate, especially for a common man, to get so familiar and so fresh with the Queen, and as both a queen _and_ a grandma, Clarisse was concerned. _She did not_ want her occasionally naïve young granddaughter getting too involved with someone like Jacques, whom their family barely knew and whose motives were uncertain, _especially_ after her recent battle with cancer. Clarisse made up her mind then that she would discuss it with Mia in private later on and let her know that she did _not_ want her inviting Jacques back to the palace in the future. And outside, Joseph was still standing guard with Shades, thinking the exact same thing.

After the "green goop," as Joseph called it, was applied to the ladies' faces for their facials, they each went to their own suites to luxuriate in the oatmeal baths that had been prepared for them. Mia could have gone for a mud bath like a lot of ladies do when they're at the spa, but she was never too keen on the idea and to her, an oatmeal bath made a lot more sense because of how soothing she was told it would be to the skin. Clarisse didn't try a mud bath herself because of her pregnancy, of course, and really, she never would have gone for that idea, either. And although Clarisse did feel a bit silly soaking in oatmeal, oddly enough, she did find it soothing and relaxing. And she couldn't help but laugh at Joseph's reaction after he'd helped her into the tub.

"Want me to add some raisins?" Joe teased, and Clarisse chuckled.

"Very funny, Joseph. Very funny."

"The great mysteries of the female gender. There are some things you ladies do that I will never understand."

"Well Joseph, if you men understood everything about us, that would make life on earth very boring. The very reason God created women was to add some mystery to the equation. We're needed to make things interesting."

"You'll get no argument from me, my love. I have _nothing_ but the highest admiration and respect for the female gender. You and Mia were absolutely right a few weeks ago when you were talking about how soft we men have it in comparison to you ladies. _We do_ have it soft. You ladies really do go through a lot and I think you are all amazing."

"And you, my dear Joseph, are equally amazing. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Well that's one thing you never have to worry about."

Clarisse smiled and said, "I know." Then she let out a tired sigh. It was midmorning now, and Clarisse had started getting fatigued at about this time every day and had been taking the first of her two daily naps at this time.

"Are you getting tired now?" Joseph asked.

"A little bit," Clarisse admitted.

"You know, Clarisse, you don't have to go through with all of this. I mean, it's fine if you find it all enjoyable and relaxing, but I don't want you to tire yourself out, either."

Clarisse smiled again at her husband's sweetness and concern, and she said, "I'll be alright, dear. And I may be getting a little tired now, but I still want to go through with everything that's been planned for today. I've been looking forward to this. I have to soak for another fifteen minutes. I'll just lie here and take a little cat nap, and fifteen minutes later, you can come back in here and wake me up and help me out of the tub."

"That's alright, darling. I'll just bring my book in here and read it while you rest." The bathroom of their suite was large and luxurious. The bathtub, shower, double sink, and walls were golden marble, and the floor was a beautiful shade of mahogany. It consisted of two rooms that were joined together by an open doorway. The first room had the double sink, a huge mirror, and the toilet, and the second room in the back had the shower in the back left corner and the enormous, deep, round bathtub across from it, built into the back right corner, and both rooms had vases filled with roses in them and gorgeous paintings on the walls. It was, in every way, a bathroom fit for a queen. And there was plenty of room on the sides surrounding the tub for Joseph to sit comfortably while Clarisse napped and soaked, so that wasn't a problem.

Clarisse laughed a little at Joseph's typical overprotectiveness of her, and she told him, "I'll be fine, Joseph. You don't have to stay."

Joseph was worried that in her sleep, Clarisse might accidentally slide underneath the oatmeal bath and end up inhaling some of it, so he really did want to stay and keep an eye on her. " _I want_ to stay. I'm not staying because I have to, but because _I want to._ "

"You are a dear, Joseph," Clarisse said just before she slipped off into her little cat nap. "You are a dear." Joseph quickly went into the living area of their suite then and got his book, and a moment later, he came back into the bathroom, sat down on the side of the tub, and read it, all the while keeping a watchful, protective eye on Clarisse as well.

After the queens were done with their oatmeal baths, they went back to the "beauty shop" room with Jacques, André, and George for their manicures, pedicures, and massages. They really enjoyed their manicures and pedicures, and for a time, they also found the massages the guys gave them very relaxing. They did have the option of getting a full body massage, but of course, they decided to settle for just shoulder, back and feet massages. And while Mia laid on her stomach for her back massage following hers and her grandma's shoulder massages, naturally, Clarisse had to lay on her side. And as the guys were massaging their backs, they got to talking and joking about some of the other services they offered at the spa, like acupuncture, but both Clarisse and Mia firmly agreed that while they enjoyed the facials, baths, manicures, pedicures, and massages, they drew the line when it came to getting a bunch of needles stuck in them all over their bodies, and they laughed. (They had also been told by a couple of other Christians they knew that acupuncture could be spiritually dangerous, and while they didn't know if that was true or not, it was still something they were confident they wanted to avoid.)

Just as Jacques was finishing up Mia's back massage, he asked her, "May I leave my card with you, Your Sexiness?"

Mia laughed and said, "Sure. Why not?" Her answer did leave her poor grandparents rather dismayed, of course. He then slipped his card inside the large pocket of her special blue spa gown – which _happened_ to be located just over Mia's right hip. In the following moment, he patted her hip…and let his hand rest on it a bit too long for Mia's taste. Clarisse didn't notice what was happening because even though she was lying on her left side facing Mia, she had been beginning to feel tired again and had been resting her eyes. However, she, Shades, and _definitely_ Joseph all took notice the instant Mia said, "Jacques, I like you, but take your hand off my hip."

 _That_ , for both her grandfather and her Royal Head of Security, was officially the last straw. It was time for Jacques to go. Clarisse's eyes opened wide in that moment, and she was about to dismiss the young man with a few choice words when Joseph and Shades suddenly came in.

"Young man, I think it's time for you to leave," Joseph said in a sharp, stern voice.

"Come with me. I'll show you the way out," Shades ordered him.

"Very well. I hope to see you again soon, Your Sexy Majesty," Jacques told Mia in his strong French accent.

As he was walking out with Shades then, Mia said, "Goodbye, Jacques!"

Shades made sure Jacques was gone before he had the chance to tell Mia goodbye in return. In the meantime, George took over for Jacques with Mia while André continued his work with Clarisse.

It was late afternoon when the ladies' day at the "spa" finally ended, and after Mia, Clarisse, and Joseph ate a good meal together, Joseph helped Clarisse upstairs to their suite so she could have a long nap since the day's activities had tired her out a good bit. However, with the exception of the fatigue and the episode with Jacques, Clarisse really had enjoyed herself that day, and even though seeing Clarisse laughing and joking with the hunks – and definitely getting massages from them – had made Joseph feel a little jealous, in the end, he was actually quite happy that she'd had a day of pampering. He knew she'd really needed it, and he knew Mia had needed it as well.

But he _also_ knew that what his still relatively innocent young granddaughter _didn't_ need was _Jacques!_ After Clarisse was lying in bed asleep, Joseph went back downstairs to talk to Shades about making sure that whenever the queens had another day at the "spa" in the palace, Jacques did _not_ return.


	16. Banana Pancakes

**Note to readers:** To be perfectly honest with all of you, I really only expected Mia's story arc to last about four chapters. Unfortunately, I underestimated just how long-winded I can really be! lol It took me considerably longer to deal with that storyline than I expected. Sorry about that. But now, I will definitely be able to focus a lot more on C/J and the baby now. Things have been a little busy for me today (and they will be for me tomorrow too) so I didn't really have time to do a more...I guess "traditional" type of chapter. This chapter is nothing but fluff, basically. I still think you guys will enjoy it, but I'm just letting you know. :) Happy reading!

 **Chapter 16: Banana Pancakes**

The morning after the queens' day at the "spa," Joseph woke up to the sound of a gentle, soothing rain. Clarisse was still asleep, and Joseph knew she would be for another couple of hours or so. He was glad she was sleeping so much now. Lord knew she needed it. For about the next twenty minutes, Joseph simply sat up in bed beside his wife, looking down at her lovingly, and listening to the rain.

Joseph knew better than anyone that as the former Queen of Genovia, his dear wife had not had a very easy life. Since she was first wed to King Rupert at age eighteen, she'd barely had a single moment of real privacy, and practically her every waking moment after they were married had been spent thinking about her queenly duties to Genovia, and her duties to others. As her personal bodyguard, he'd watched in awe for many years the way she constantly made sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice in order to serve the country she loved, without a moment of complaint. She was a rare, incredible combination of strength, power, and grace.

And now that she'd abdicated the throne in favor of her granddaughter and her time was finally her own…it wasn't. If it had been another woman than his Clarisse, Baby Isaac probably wouldn't even be _alive_ now. A lot of other women at Clarisse's age would have chosen to have an abortion rather than go through the risks and discomforts and pain of pregnancy and childbirth. Not Clarisse. To her, their child wasn't an unwanted burden or inconvenience, and Isaac wasn't an unnecessary risk to her health as Joseph had thought him to be in the beginning. To her, he was a miracle she treasured and cared for, not simply because of how he'd been conceived so late in her life, but because of the fact that he was _their child_ – hers and Joseph's. A priceless combination of Joseph and herself that she'd made it clear she cherished. This time that was supposed to belong to herself, that was supposed to be for relaxing and enjoying herself and her new husband, instead was now going to be spent taking care of another child. Joseph knew perfectly well that many women in her position would not have been willing to make a sacrifice like that after a lifetime of _so many sacrifices_ , but Clarisse was. She was sacrificing this time for herself that she'd worked _so_ hard and waited _so_ long for, because to her, it _wasn't_ a sacrifice, but a gift, and Joseph knew it. He knew how much she loved him and he knew that she loved their child _because_ she loved _him_ as much as she did. Of course their love and commitment to Christ came first in both their lives and because of their faith, an abortion could never have been an option for Clarisse anyway and Joseph knew that, but he also knew how much her love for _him_ factored into the equation, and it moved Joseph beyond words.

As he continued looking down into her beautiful face, Joseph could tell that even now when she was asleep, even when she was _resting_ , she was still hard at work. Practically every single moment of the day when she was Queen, Joseph could see it in her eyes how hard at work her mind was, _always_ thinking about her work, her duties, her role, her position, her country. And he could see it now as he looked down at her that even while she was _sleeping_ , her body and her spirit were hard at work, nurturing, caring for, sustaining, protecting, loving, cherishing his baby. _His baby._ He had accepted it long ago that he would never be a father, and now, after _all_ these years, it was miraculously happening for him – _with_ the woman he loved the most. He was humbled and terribly grateful that out of all the men in the world God could have chosen for this, He chose _him_. It was an extremely remarkable gift to say the least.

It was just that as a husband, as the man who had _truly_ loved Clarisse all these years, he could only _imagine_ the kind of strain this pregnancy was putting on her now older body, and it worried him. He found himself wishing more and more nowadays that there was some kind of way that men could carry a baby so that he could do all of this for Clarisse and spare her all the fatigue and discomfort of pregnancy, and _definitely_ the pain of childbirth. That was what _really_ scared him the most. Clarisse was _still_ being stubborn about not wanting to get an epidural, and the thought of her going through the agony of birth at her age was in fact something Joseph found to be rather terrifying, and he hoped with all his heart that he could get her to change her mind before the baby came.

But even though he couldn't take any of her symptoms or discomfort for her now or the pain of her labor for her in the future, he'd already made his mind up from the very beginning that he was going to do everything he could to make this as easy as possible for her. Maybe he couldn't take the backaches or the swollen feet, but he _could_ give her plenty of back rubs and feet rubs, which he _had_ been doing quite faithfully. And maybe he couldn't even make it to where her time of rest could just be a time of _pure rest_ and not a time in which she still had to work in some form or fashion because of the pregnancy, but at the very least, he could be with her now. He could let her know that while she was at work, growing and caring for their baby in her rest, he was here.

Joseph then very gently and carefully turned over onto his side and slowly wrapped his arm around Clarisse. He wanted her to feel his presence, feel him next to her while she slept, but he _definitely_ didn't want to wake her up. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed because in that next moment, Clarisse whispered, "Good morning."

"Oh Clarisse, I'm so sorry," Joseph said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you. Try to go back to sleep."

"You didn't wake me," Clarisse assured him, and then she took Joseph's hand and moved down to a certain spot on her lower abdomen, where Joseph felt Isaac kicking up a storm, as usual. " _He did._ "

"How long's the little rascal been at it?"

"I'm not sure. A little while now."

"Did you sleep _any_ last night?"

"Off and on."

"Maybe Isaac's putting up a fuss because he's hungry."

"Maybe."

"And maybe Isaac's mommy will find it easier to get back to sleep with a full stomach."

Clarisse smiled at Joseph's typical fussing over her and said to him, "Maybe." While she and Rupert really had become good friends with each other over the course of their marriage, he had _certainly_ never spoiled her the way Joseph did – not even when she was pregnant with Pierre and Philippe.

"So, Mommy, what would you like me to cook you for breakfast?"

The thought of Joseph himself cooking her breakfast brought another smile to Clarisse's face. She certainly loved their chef's delicious cooking, but Clarisse always thought Joseph's cooking was even better. And although Joseph personally cooking meals for Clarisse and bringing them to her was hardly an unusual thing, especially now, it still really touched her that he would go to the trouble when, with their own chef in the palace, he hardly _had_ to.

"Mommy's not picky. Mommy's happy with anything. But Isaac, I think, would like– "

"Let me guess. Banana pancakes."

"Bingo."

Joseph kissed Clarisse's cheek then and told her, "I'll be back with breakfast in a little while, sweetheart. In the meantime, try and get a little more rest."

"Will do," Clarisse said as Joseph got out of bed. And while he was on his way out of their bedchamber, she said to him, "Thank you, Joseph."

"You're more than welcome," he called on his way out.

After Mia had sent Shades out on a banana mission for Clarisse from her hospital bed several weeks back, Joseph had made it clear to Clarisse that he wanted her to let him know whenever she wanted a banana from the kitchen, even if it was in the middle of the night. Clarisse had been nice about it and hadn't wanted to get him up in the wee hours of the morning just to get her a banana, but Joseph had insisted upon it. And all through the pregnancy, he was frequently making her banana pancakes, banana milkshakes, and all kinds of different foods with bananas in them. It was yet another way in which Joseph was being _so_ considerate, sensitive, and loving to Clarisse now.

As Joseph stood at the stove cooking the pancakes downstairs, he was actually humming to himself a little. While he really hated it that Isaac had _yet again_ prevented his poor mother from getting a full night's rest, it made him so happy to be doing at least _one_ little thing to be helpful to Clarisse. Again, he really, really hated it that he couldn't take any of this for her right now, but it did bring him a lot of happiness to be doing whatever little things he could do for her as a husband to make her feel loved and to help her feel at least a little more comfortable.

The nice, gentle rain continued to fall as Clarisse sat at the small table in the living area of their suite with Joseph and ate her pancakes. She noticed Joseph wasn't eating anything, and he told her that he'd get something for himself from the kitchen later. Truth be told, he simply liked sitting at the table and watching Clarisse eat. She ate with such personality. Such _gusto!_ And while he'd never told her, the truth was, he'd _always_ loved watching her eat.

After Clarisse was done eating, and after she made a stop to the bathroom to use the toilet and take a shower, she changed into a new nightgown and climbed back in under the covers. Thankfully, she was able to get back to sleep relatively quickly, and as she slept, Joseph kept an ever-loving, ever-watchful eye on her. He loved to watch her sleep every bit as much as he loved to watch her eat.

A little while later, unable to resist the urge any longer, Joseph kicked off his shoes, climbed back into bed next to Clarisse, turned on his side, wrapped his arm around her and held her close while she continued to rest.


	17. A Motion of No Confidence

**Note to readers:** Just want to say thanks to everybody once again for all the supportive reviews, and to everyone who has faved or followed _Cherished._ It really means a lot. I hope you all enjoy Ch. 17! :)

 **Chapter 17: A Motion of No Confidence**

A few days later, it was Mia's first official full day back on the job, and one of the first things she had to do – that she was _not_ particularly looking forward to – was attending a session with Parliament. It would be the first time she would have to deal with Mabrey again since the day she first came home from the hospital, and she knew it would _not_ be pleasant. Since her combination of medication was helping to keep her mood stabilized and since she had physically recovered from everything quite well, Mia was pretty much back to her normal self once again and she was actually in fairly good spirits for the most part. However, she was still dreading dealing with Mabrey. She knew he would do everything in his power to make her first day back as grueling as possible, and she wasn't particularly looking forward to hearing him try to persuade the other Parliament members that she was unfit to be on the throne because of her hysterectomy, either. And she was sure he _would_ in fact try to do that.

As Mia was walking down the palace corridor on her way to Parliament that morning, she was suddenly stopped by her grandparents, who wanted a word with her before she went inside.

"Hi, guys," she said to them after she'd turned around the moment they called her name. "What's up?"

"We just wanted to let you know we'll be thinking about you while you're in there today, sweetheart," Joseph told her. " _And_ praying."

"It's still not too late to change your mind, you know," said Clarisse. "If you need another day to rest, I'm sure Sebastian–"

"Grandma, I'm fine. I'm not looking forward to putting up with Mabrey today. I won't lie. But I'm okay. I can handle this."

Clarisse gave her granddaughter a loving smile in that moment, and then she gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, and she said, "I'm so proud of you, darling. You are being so strong."

"You are," Joseph agreed. "You're doing a wonderful job."

"Absolutely," said Clarisse.

"Thank you. Thank you both so much. That really means a lot," Mia said as her face practically beamed. Praise from Clarisse was especially helpful to Mia, and Clarisse had only begun to realize _how_ much it helped her and how much she needed it ever since reading her diary entries several weeks ago.

"Just remember, do not listen to _anything_ that snake has to say," Clarisse instructed.

"I won't. Just pray for me like you said you would, Grandpa. Pray that I don't lose it in there and wind up tearing Mabrey's tongue out."

Clarisse and Joseph laughed, and Joseph teased, "Well if you _were_ to do that, as Queen, you _do_ have diplomatic immunity in over forty-six countries, including Puerto Rico, so it really doesn't matter."

Clarisse playfully punched Joseph in the arm while Mia laughed, and then she said, "Oh, Joseph!" In that next moment, she turned her attention back to Mia and told her, "My darling, I know it'll be difficult, but you _can_ do this. And we'll always be here for you. You know that."

Mia smiled and said, "I know. Thanks. That really means everything to me." After giving her grandparents another smile, Mia turned around, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

A couple of seconds later, Charlotte came walking down the corridor, and she told Clarisse and Joseph, "Your Majesty, Joseph, I am really glad I caught you both here. Listen. Something big, something _very_ big, is going to happen in today's session with Parliament. Sebastian and I have been discussing it with most of the other Parliament members and we have the necessary support for it to go through. I can't say anything more than that. I don't want to spoil the surprise for you. The two of you should go around now and sneak through the secret tunnel and watch what happens today."

"This really sounds big, Charlotte," said Joseph.

" _It is_ , Joseph. _It is._ Your Majesty, today is a day you have been waiting for for a long time. It's a day we've _all_ been waiting for."

"Well you have _definitely_ stirred up my curiosity, Charlotte. I can't wait to see what's going to happen."

"You'll love it. Trust me," Charlotte said, and then she started to walk in. Just before she did, though, she stopped, turned back around to face them, and told them, "Oh, yeah. One last thing."

"What's that?" asked Joseph.

"Bring popcorn. A lot of popcorn. This will be _very_ entertaining."

Joseph and Clarisse looked at each other in that moment and simply shrugged, and then they went off to the kitchen where Joseph made them a big bowl of popcorn. After the popcorn was ready, Joseph helped Clarisse through the tunnel, and she opened up the little window and they anxiously watched what was happening together.

After the session officially began (and after Sebastian officially welcomed Mia back to Parliament), he started by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a situation between our Queen and one of the members of this Parliament that needs to be addressed."

Listening to Sebastian saying that suddenly made Mia very nervous. She knew that she'd really lost her composure with Mabrey upon her return from the hospital a few weeks ago. And let's face it: threatening to beat up a Parliament member wasn't exactly _queenly_ behavior! And Sebastian _had_ been there, after all. He'd heard the whole nasty confrontation, as had Charlotte. What if this had political repercussions for her today that she hadn't even thought about?

Meanwhile in the tunnel, Clarisse and Joseph looked at each other for a long moment and wondered to themselves just _what_ exactly was going on. They really had no doubts that Sebastian was on theirs and Mia's side and _not_ on Mabrey's, but the whole entire thing was still rather mysterious. In that next second, saying nothing, they simply took a handful of popcorn and put it in their mouths and watched and listened very, _very_ carefully.

Mia then almost halfway expected Sebastian to start chewing her out in front of everyone, but she was soon pleasantly surprised. Instead, Sebastian quickly made eye contact with _Mabrey_ and told him, "Viscount Mabrey, Lady Kutaway and I were _both_ present when you _purposefully_ began an argument between yourself and Her Majesty, and in fact, it was far more than a mere argument. You, sir, were not only _horrendously_ out of line and insulting in the remarks you made to Her Majesty; some people, including myself, would agree that you were even _abusive._ Before anything else is said and done in this session today, _you will_ formally apologize to Her Majesty."

"Charlotte was right," Clarisse whispered to Joseph in the tunnel. "I am _really_ going to enjoy _this._ "

"Me, too," Joseph whispered.

Naturally, Mabrey did _not_ want to have to apologize to Mia in front of the entire assembly of Parliament, but he knew he had no choice. _Everybody_ there had long since heard about the confrontation between himself and the Queen that had occurred weeks ago, and with the exception of one or two of the allies he still had in Parliament, almost everyone agreed that it was Mabrey who was in the wrong. And, of course, as Prime Minister, Sebastian _was_ the person who was presiding over Parliament, and Mabrey knew he couldn't go against him even if he wanted to.

Therefore, Mabrey – albeit very _reluctantly_ – got up from his seat, turned to face Queen Mia who was sitting in her special throne chair next to Prime Minister Motaz, and told her insincerely, "Your Majesty, I realize that my conduct in our last conversation together was inappropriate. I apologize."

Mia had to fight to keep from laughing as she looked at Mabrey's face. According to the palace and parliamentary grapevine, Joseph's punch had actually broken Mabrey's nose in three places, and while the breaks in his nose had healed by now, he'd been told by his doctor that the swelling could last for months, and Mia could clearly see that his nose was still swollen to about twice its normal size.

As for his "apology," although it would have been polite and proper for Mia to accept his apology and to thank him for offering it, she did neither of those things because it was so blatantly obvious to her and to _everyone_ there that Mabrey didn't mean a single word of it. Because of his painfully obvious insincerity, Mia responded simply by saying nothing, and to be honest, nobody there really blamed her.

While things remained tense in that moment, suddenly, things took a very sharp, very interesting turn. A couple of seconds later, all of the sudden, Charlotte stood up from her seat and said, "An apology isn't enough. As Prime Minister Motaz said, he and I were both there and we _both_ heard and witnessed the confrontation between Viscount Mabrey and our Queen. Viscount Mabrey was, in fact, so mean-spirited and emotionally abusive that Queen Mia nearly fainted because of his atrocious behavior. Bear in mind, ladies and gentlemen, that this incident occurred _the very day_ that the Queen came home from the hospital following her recent battle with _cancer._ Such action demonstrates a desire to do physical harm as well as emotional harm to Her Majesty, the Queen. I personally believe that it was Viscount Mabrey's intention all along to upset Queen Mia so much that it would make her physically ill and make her recovery more difficult."

"And I agree with Lady Kutaway," said Sebastian.

"And as far as I am concerned," Charlotte continued, "the Viscount's behavior was not only unbelievably inappropriate, but was even an act of treason against the crown." The instant Charlotte said that, the entire room was filled with hushed talking and whispering of the Parliament members amongst themselves. After it died down several moments later, Charlotte said, "And for obvious reasons, anyone guilty of committing an act of treason against the crown has no place in our assembly. Therefore, I officially make a motion of no confidence concerning the position of Viscount Arthur Mabrey in this Parliament. Because of his recent, I believe _treasonous_ conduct against Her Majesty, the Queen, I call on my esteemed colleagues to pass the motion of no confidence, and I call on Viscount Mabrey to resign from his position in our Parliament immediately." The mumbling and whispering amongst themselves really went up a notch in that moment.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Mia whispered to herself.

"Oh, _wow_ ," Clarisse and Joseph whispered simultaneously in the tunnel…just before they each grabbed another big handful of popcorn.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are not being fair, and we are not looking at _all_ the facts!" Mabrey protested above all the noise. "Yes, I do admit that my behavior was inappropriate, and I do regret it. However, with all due respect, Your Majesty, we all know that _your_ behavior was _equally_ inappropriate. Your Majesty, did you or did you not physically threaten me on that day?" Again, the whispers, mumbling, and talking amongst the other Parliament members intensified. "As a matter of fact, while it is true that you became lightheaded, that only happened because you were preparing to get into a physical altercation with me. Is that not correct?"

Before Mia could answer, Sebastian cut in, saying, "Viscount Mabrey, you know as well as I do that young Queen Mia wouldn't hurt a fly. She is a very gentle soul who wouldn't hurt anyone unless they angered her to a very severe extent, which is _precisely_ what _you did_ to her the very day she came home from the hospital after major surgery and radiation therapy. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Queen Mia _was_ preparing to get into a physical fight with Viscount Mabrey that day, but the _reason_ she was preparing to do so was because Mabrey said that her grandmother, Her Majesty, Queen Clarisse, was stupid for choosing to go through with her pregnancy, and that she was, and I quote, 'a ridiculous freak of nature the whole world cannot stop laughing at.' And you _do not_ insult a person's grandmother like that the very _day_ that she comes home from the hospital after major surgery and radiation treatment. That's just common sense. Again, Viscount Mabrey, I have no choice but to agree with Lady Kutaway in her assessment of your behavior because of the _timing_ of your behavior. I, too, firmly believe that your behavior demonstrates a desire on your part to bring physical as well as emotional harm to Her Majesty, Queen Mia, and I agree that such behavior is in fact an act of treason against the crown."

Suddenly, Lady Sylvia Aimes, an average-sized, middle-aged black lady with glasses, whose seat was right next to Charlotte's, stood up beside Charlotte and said, "And I agree as well. I second the motion." Right after she said that, Clarisse and Joseph, both of them as wide-eyed as ever, took another big handful of popcorn while Mia simply watched the scene play out in front of her in shock.

For the next several minutes, one Parliament member after another took this opportunity to basically say what they _really_ thought of Viscount Mabrey. Many female members called him out on the way he'd made trouble for the "maternity bill" and other legislation Mia was supporting that would be helpful to women throughout Genovia simply because he had a personal vendetta against her. Quite a few of the men there voiced similar displeasure with Mabrey and his tactics, and almost everyone wholeheartedly agreed with Sebastian and Charlotte, that his recent conduct towards their young Queen was in fact vicious and even abusive, as well as treasonous.

The highlight of the session, however, came when ninety-year-old Lady Paulette Martin stood up and started ripping into Mabrey. Her now deceased husband, Lord Jean-Pierre Martin, had recently died in the middle of his term the year before, and Lady Martin, who was still amazingly healthy, strong, and active for her age, and had always been very active in Genovian politics alongside her husband, had run for his seat soon after the law was changed allowing women to serve in Parliament, and she had won it in a landslide. While Lady Martin was very intelligent, though, she was also incredibly feisty, and due to her feistiness, and due to the fact that she was older now, she would often just blurt out the first thought that came to her mind. She frequently said things nobody else in Parliament would _dare_ to, and now was one of those times.

Lady Martin had a head full of white hair she had pulled back into a bun, and she wore big round glasses over her blue eyes, and she was skinny and was, in fact, only five-feet-one. People often made the mistake of assuming that because of her size and her appearance, she was a weak, helpless little grandma. She was, in fact, a great-grandma many times over now, but she was _far_ from being weak and helpless.

And in addition to _not_ being weak and helpless, she was also _not quiet._ After Lord Palimore got finished telling Mabrey off, Lady Martin stood up and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Arthur Mabrey, you are a boil on the butt of this Parliament!"

To put it mildly, Clarisse and Joseph _died_ laughing inside that tunnel. They covered their mouths and laughed as quietly as they possibly could, of course, but thanks to Lady Martin, they each had _tears_ of laughter running down their faces. As a matter of fact, Joseph very nearly choked on his popcorn because she'd made him laugh so hard.

Mia and Sebastian had pretty similar reactions, as did most everybody else in Parliament. Mia and Sebastian each turned around in their chairs and faced the wall, and then they covered their mouths while they quietly laughed their heads off. Charlotte and the majority of the other Parliament members were the exact same way.

"Boy, if you were my son, I'd put you over my knee and I'd blister your butt with one of my husband's leather belts!" she shouted, causing the muffled laughter amongst her colleagues – and in the secret tunnel – to grow louder and louder. "Is your mother alive today, boy?" she asked him.

Mabrey didn't answer at first. Being called "boy" wasn't exactly agreeable to his pride. But as everyone around him began staring him down, and as he looked into Lady Martin's fierce deep blue eyes, he knew he had no choice but to answer her. "No," he told her.

"Makes sense. She probably died long ago of embarrassment at the thought of having _you_ for a son!" Again, the room was filled with laughter, and this time, _no one_ was even _trying_ to hide it or muffle it, not even Clarisse and Joseph.

A few moments later, Sebastian tapped his gavel several times and called the assembly back into order. Then everyone officially voted on Charlotte's motion of no confidence, and with the exception of just a couple of Parliament members who were still loyal to Mabrey, everyone else voted yes and the motion passed through with flying colors. And the very moment it was passed, Joseph put his arm around Clarisse's shoulders and gave her a big kiss. This was a _huge_ moment for both of them as they _both_ had had to endure so much from Mabrey for so many years, especially Clarisse. It was also a very big moment for Mia, who'd also taken an awful lot from Mabrey. It was all Clarisse could do in those moments to keep from screaming out, " _Yes!_ " and jumping up and down.

"As of this moment, you are officially relieved of your position in our honored assembly," Sebastian informed Mabrey right after Charlotte's motion of no confidence passed. "Mabrey, there's something I'd like to say to you now; something I have wanted to say to you for many years: _get out._ "

Just when it seemed things couldn't _possibly_ get any better, Lady Martin cried out, "May the doorknob hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" The instant Lady Martin said that, once again, Clarisse, Joseph, Mia, Sebastian, Charlotte, and nearly every other Parliament member there just died laughing, all the while Mabrey stomped away in an angry, defeated huff.

All through the rest of that day following the Parliament session, obviously, Mabrey getting axed was the only thing people could talk about. Mia joked with Clarisse and Joseph that she should throw a party to celebrate his departure from Parliament, and in fact, practically _everybody_ felt the same way. Perhaps no official celebration parties were being planned in honor of the event, but everyone from the maids to most of the other Parliament members to the Queens themselves really _were_ celebrating inside.

Later that night at around eleven-thirty, as Clarisse and Joseph were lying in bed together, Clarisse couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that day, and she _certainly_ couldn't stop thinking about Lady Martin's _hilarious_ comments, either. She began to laugh, but then she covered her mouth because she didn't want to laugh too loudly and wake Joseph.

Joseph, however, still hadn't managed to fall asleep yet, and when he heard his wife's muffled laughter and saw her covering her mouth, he told her, "Let it out, Clarisse." Realizing he was awake then, she removed her hand from her mouth and let out the biggest laugh of her entire life. In that moment, Joseph couldn't help but laugh with her. "That's right, sweetheart," he said as he wrapped his arm around her then and held her close, and a moment later, he kissed her cheek. "You just have yourself a good laugh. You have more than earned it after all these years of enduring that snake."

"I just can't stop thinking about how Lady Martin said Mabrey was a boil on Parliament's butt," Clarisse said through her laughter, and then she and Joseph laughed together again for a good while.

"He certainly was," Joseph agreed. "And today, he was a boil that got _lanced!_ "

That comment then sent _both_ of them into a huge fit of laughter, and for the longest time, Clarisse and Joseph simply laid together in bed and howled, laughing until they were in tears.


	18. Young Girl in Love

**Note to readers:** Just want to say thanks again for all the kind reviews and support! :) Hope you guys enjoy ch. 18.

 **Chapter 18: Young Girl in Love**

Clarisse sat on the couch in the living area of hers and her husband's suite, her abdomen bigger and rounder than ever at thirty-seven weeks pregnant, feeling fully, totally, completely, utterly, absolutely, and wholeheartedly _ridiculous._ Ever since Clarisse had begun to show, Mia had tried to convince her to put headphones over her belly and have Isaac listen to Mozart because of the claim that getting babies to listen to classical music, even in the womb, makes them smarter. Clarisse always refused her granddaughter's suggestion because she felt the whole thing was silly and had no real basis in scientific fact, and really, she _did_ feel ridiculous putting headphones over her pregnant belly. However, in recent weeks, Mia had become more and more insistent and today, she finally wore her grandmother down and got her to agree to put headphones over her pregnant stomach long enough for Isaac to listen to one song by Mozart.

"It'll be good for him, Grandma," Mia insisted as she put the headphones around Clarisse's belly, while Clarisse rolled her eyes. Mia then said, "Oh, come on. Be a good sport. It's for Isaac. Our baby needs his Mozart. After all, you _do_ want him to grow up to be smart, don't you?"

"He's already plenty smart. He hasn't even been born yet and already, he's figured out how to get mine and Joseph's attention _whenever_ he wants it, even if it's in the middle of the night, by kicking up a storm and not letting either one of us get a wink of sleep."

As Joseph came walking through in that moment, he said, "Well, maybe listening to Mozart will help calm him down."

Mia was sitting beside Clarisse on the couch, and after Joseph said what he did, he came around and sat down on the other side of his wife, and she shot him a very annoyed glance.

"Joseph, whose side are you on?" she asked him.

Joseph laughed then and said, "It's not that bad, Clarisse. It's only one song."

"But I feel stupid. I feel ridiculous with these headphones around my stomach," Clarisse complained.

"There is nothing wrong with providing our baby with a taste of Mozart," Mia insisted. "And if Isaac still hasn't calmed down after the song is over, I will read him a story."

"Read him a story?" said Clarisse.

"Yes. I've never been a parent before and I have no experience with babies, but even I know that little children need bedtime stories. This will give me a perfect opportunity to practice!"

Joseph laughed out loud, and Clarisse rolled her eyes again and said, "Oh, for heaven's sake! Mia, he's just a baby. He hasn't even been _born_ yet!"

"Now Grandma, you're not being fair. You know I've never done this before. I need to practice these things. It's important. Don't you want me to take my co-parenting duties seriously? You don't want me to end up being a lousy co-parent, do you?"

Clarisse's face really softened in that moment. It was true that Mia _was_ driving her a little crazy today, but Clarisse knew it was only because she loved Isaac _so_ much. She also knew how much being a "co-parent" really meant to Mia after everything she'd recently been through with her hysterectomy, so it was impossible for her to stay agitated with her young granddaughter for too long. Mia really was _such_ a sweetheart.

Clarisse took Mia's hand then, looked into her eyes, and told her, "Darling, you could _never_ be a lousy co-parent. You're going to be wonderful."

"Absolutely," Joseph agreed.

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence, guys, but I still think it's better that I get in as much practice as possible in these last few weeks before Isaac comes. Grandpa, you're a first-time parent too, so you also need to practice. So when Isaac's done listening to his Mozart, you and I are going to read to him…" she said as she reached over and took a children's book out of her big purse she had sitting on their coffee table, " _The Little Engine That Could._ "

Joseph laughed again while Clarisse cried out, "Oh, Mia!"

"What are you guys being like that for? _The Little Engine That Could_ is a children's classic. This story should be read to every little child."

"Yes, but not while they're still in the womb!" Clarisse said aloud, while Joseph kept laughing. Clarisse certainly had no objection to Joseph and Mia talking to Isaac. She knew it was good for her baby to become accustomed to their family's voices, and in fact, hearing Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia speaking to him had calmed him down on more than one occasion when he was kicking like crazy. However, she really thought that Mia was being a bit silly and going overboard with Mozart and _The Little Engine That Could._ She didn't think Isaac cared one little bit about Mozart, and Isaac wasn't even old enough to understand English yet, so again, she thought reading him _The Little Engine That Could_ was silly.

"Why not? For all you know, our baby may really like _The Little Engine That Could._ We can't deprive him of his story time," Mia insisted.

A few moments later, the song by Mozart was over and Clarisse was _very_ pleased when Mia finally took the headphones off her pregnant stomach. Mia wasn't done, though, because as soon as Mozart was over, she made Clarisse and Joseph read _The Little Engine That Could_ to Isaac along with her, despite Clarisse's objections. And after story time was done a little while later, Mia left so that Clarisse could go to bed for a much-needed nap.

Clarisse woke up from her nap at about a quarter 'til five that evening, and she changed out of her lovely white silk pajamas into a comfortable short-sleeved, long, periwinkle maternity dress and a pair of sandals that, thankfully, were also comfortable for her to wear despite her swollen feet. Although because of her age, she'd frequently felt fatigued during the day as her pregnancy progressed, this evening, Clarisse really found herself feeling restless. Both Dr. Hart and Dr. Mackenzie had told her that it was good for her to get whatever exercise she could during her pregnancy, and they'd highly recommended that she take good walks whenever she felt up to it because that was a very safe way for a pregnant woman to get the daily exercise she needed. Therefore, despite the fatigue, she and Joseph had been taking many long walks through the palace grounds together throughout the pregnancy. It was the middle of May and the weather had really been warming up in recent weeks, but this evening was cool and pleasant, so Clarisse decided to go for a nice stroll.

While Clarisse had been asleep, Joseph had eventually gone downstairs and started hanging out with the boys in the security hub. Things were as uneventful as ever that Saturday. Mia had had a couple of meetings and engagements earlier, but afterwards, following her little visit with Clarisse, Joseph, and Baby Isaac, the only thing she'd really had to do as Queen was work on her usual endless stack of paperwork that was always waiting for her in her office. All the other guys knew that Shades was vigilantly guarding the Queen while she worked in her office throughout the day, so they'd gotten wrapped up in a poker-playing tournament Lionel and Kevin and several of the other guards had suggested they do to pass the time. When Joseph joined them about an hour before, naturally, he'd gotten caught up in the tournament as well.

As Clarisse came walking through the foyer on her way outside, Shades said, "I can go get your husband for you if you want me to, Your Majesty." Shades had been with Queen Mia and Marjorie in her office for most of the day, but he'd stepped out into the foyer when he'd heard footsteps and stuck his head out of the open doorway and seen Queen Clarisse coming.

Clarisse smiled and said, "That's quite alright. There's no need to disturb him. Mrs. Kout told me all about the big poker tournament the boys are having in the security hub and I know Joseph's enjoying himself in there. I'm just going outside for a little walk. I won't be long."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go get Joseph to walk with you, ma'am?" Shades asked, clearly concerned. Even if it was just a little walk through the palace grounds, Queen Clarisse _was_ thirty-seven weeks pregnant, after all, and she was older on top of that, and the thought of her being on her own like that without Joseph or himself or one of the boys there with her did worry him. What if she tripped and fell?

Clarisse laughed and said, "You fellows worry too much. I may be pregnant but I am _not_ helpless. I'll be fine. Let Joseph have his fun with the guys this evening. He deserves it."

"Yes, ma'am," Shades said quietly in defeat. Clarisse _was_ the Dowager Queen of Genovia, after all, so he could hardly just openly defy her.

So after Clarisse walked outside, Shades decided to _covertly_ defy her. He stuck his head inside Queen Mia's office then and quietly motioned for Marjorie to join him outside. After she came out into the foyer, he explained the situation to her and asked her to tell Joseph about it, and she was happy to oblige.

Clarisse had made it down the palace steps and was approaching one of the small stone bridges that went over a creek that ran through the grounds when she suddenly heard Joseph.

"Clarisse," he called after her while he ran a little bit to catch up to her. "Clarisse, hold on a second. Wait up."

After Joseph caught up to her, Clarisse told him, "I'll get Shades for this. I _specifically_ told him not to interrupt your game."

"It wasn't Shades. It was somebody else."

"Who else could it have been? Shades was the only person I told that I was going for a walk."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but a good bodyguard never reveals his sources."

"Yes, but you're not my bodyguard anymore. You retired. You stepped down as the Royal Head of Security after we got married and I abdicated the throne in favor of Mia. Remember?"

"Well, I may not _officially_ be a royal bodyguard anymore, but I will always be a husband, and as your husband, it will always be my job to guard your beautiful," he said, and then he laid a small kiss on her lips, "beautiful body." After saying that, he gave her another quick but loving kiss on the lips.

It had been around ten months now since Clarisse stepped down as Queen of Genovia, and the combination of ten months of retirement, plus her marriage to Joseph, had gone a long way in getting her to finally loosen up a bit. Back when she was still Queen, of course, she _never_ would have allowed herself to express her emotions so openly outside of the privacy of her suite, but now, after Joseph went on about her "beautiful, beautiful body," Clarisse couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Beautiful, beautiful body? Joseph, have you taken a good look at me lately? _I'm huge!_ "

"Well, yes, but they call it being 'big and beautiful' for a reason." Clarisse laughed again when he said that.

"Well I certainly don't _feel_ beautiful right now. _I feel_ like I'm as enormous as the entire palace! When _this_ queen sits around the palace," Clarisse said as Joseph slipped his arm around her waist and they began walking together, " _she sits around the palace!_ "

"Hey! Don't talk like that about my queen. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. _You. Are. Beautiful._ And three weeks from now – or hopefully sooner – you and I are going to have a beautiful baby."

They were standing in the middle of the first stone bridge in that moment as the couple stopped walking and Clarisse looked into her husband's face and smiled. Joseph really was _so_ beautiful, on the inside and the outside. He had such a tender, caring heart filled with love, and that love filled his face now and made him more handsome to Clarisse than ever as she looked at him in the beautiful evening sunlight.

Clarisse may have had to endure even more discomfort than a woman typically did when she was pregnant due to her age, but it was because of _Joseph_ that this pregnancy had been the happiest one she'd ever experienced. He loved her and took care of her and watched out for her in ways no other man in her life ever had before. All through the years, while Rupert had cared about her and respected her, and yes, had also loved her in his own way, that caring, respect, and love had _never_ run as deeply or been as poignant as Joseph's had been, perhaps because Joseph had taken the time to _show_ her how much he cared in all the little ways Rupert had never bothered to. She and Joseph certainly hadn't been hoping for Rupert to just die one day so that they could get married and finally be together, of course, but they had each dreamed and fantasized about being together someday during all those years.

But _this?_ Being married, being truly, wholeheartedly, unashamedly in love and together, _legitimately_ , out in the open in front of everyone with the blessings of all their loved ones and even the entire country of Genovia, was something that had been beyond their wildest dreams for _years_ , but having a _baby_ together on top of _that?_ That was something neither of them could have even _begun_ to imagine, and now, here it was, _actually happening._ Yes, she was older now. She was King Rupert's widow; she was a mother; she was a grandmother, and she was also the Dowager Queen of Genovia, but deep down inside the heart of Queen Clarisse Renaldi was a young girl in love; a newlywed in her first year of marriage to the _great_ love of her life, and it was _that_ young girl who was standing outside on the bridge with Joseph that evening. Yes, she did suffer discomfort from being pregnant at her age, but as she stood with Joseph looking into his deep blue, beautiful, tender eyes in those moments, and as she felt Isaac start up another barrage of kicking within her, and as she once again _really_ took the time to digest the thought that in God's _great_ grace, she had been allowed to create a brand new, unique human life with this dear man she loved _so_ much, she was overcome with pure, absolute _joy_.

"Yes, we are, Joseph," she told him as her face just _beamed_ , which definitely brought a smile to Joseph's face. "We are having a _beautiful_ baby."

For most of Clarisse's life, the ever-strict, ever-proper, ever-dutiful queen had always been in control of her heart and mind. Things had _had_ to be like that, of course. Her role had never _allowed_ her to be a young girl in love. Even though King Rupert had been her _husband_ , she _still_ hadn't had the freedom to simply walk up to him and hug him or kiss him whenever she wanted like other wives.

Perhaps it was the pregnancy hormones. Perhaps it was Clarisse _finally_ getting fed up after a _lifetime_ of royal rules and regulations. Or perhaps it was a combination of both. Either way, as Clarisse continued staring into those _beautiful_ deep blue eyes she loved so much, the queen _finally_ lost her hold over Clarisse and the young girl in love came to the surface, and not caring one teeny, tiny little bit if anybody else should happen to see them, she put her arms around Joseph in that moment and kissed him just as passionately as her heart wanted her to.

Naturally, Joseph wrapped his arms around Clarisse and returned the kiss with _just_ as much passion, and when the long kiss finally ended, he laughed and asked, "What was that for?"

Clarisse, still in his arms, looked up at him and smiled and said, "Nothing. I'm just happy."

Joseph tenderly stroked Clarisse's cheek and responded with the biggest smile, "I'm so glad. Nothing does my heart more good than seeing you so happy like this."

That young girl in love was still very, _very_ much in control of Clarisse in those moments and the queen was nowhere to be seen, and it was then that she decided that _not only_ did she no longer care if anybody else should happen to see her giving Joseph a passionate kiss; _she also_ decided that she no longer cared if anybody else saw her make out with him! She then proceeded to lay one passionate kiss after another on Joseph, first on his mouth, then on his cheeks, then all over his face.

For Joseph, Clarisse's sudden, _very_ unexpected multitude of kisses were quite a pleasant surprise. Clarisse _never_ acted like this whenever they weren't alone in the privacy of their suite. For a little while, Joseph was perfectly happy to just stand there outside and make out with his wife while he laughed in between kisses at the surprise of it all, but after some time passed, the protective bodyguard in him began to override the young boy in love that he'd also allowed to rise to the surface. He and Clarisse had not made love in quite some time because her pregnancy was a high-risk pregnancy, and with her due date now being less than a month away, he really did not want to put her body through the added physical exertion of sex.

"Okay, Clarisse," Joseph whispered in between her kisses. "Okay, sweetheart. Okay. Let's settle down now. There's no telling who's spying on us."

"I don't care. Let them watch," Clarisse said mischievously, and then she went right back to kissing him while Joseph laughed again.

"Clarisse, the baby–"

"He's still in the womb. He can't see anything," she told him as she continued kissing him, and Joseph continued to laugh. He was thoroughly enjoying all the unexpected kissing from Clarisse, of course, but as hard as it was, he knew he simply _had_ to stop her before things went too far. After wracking his brain for a moment, he quickly thought of the perfect way to distract her: her favorite Elvis song.

Joseph quickly backed out of Clarisse's embrace, and then he wrapped one arm around her waist and held out the other arm and took her hand in his, and then he started dancing with her. And as he got her to dance with him, he started singing, "Wise men say…only fools rush in." A second later, he said, "Come on, Clarisse. Sing with me."

Clarisse laughed while they danced, and she said to him, "Alright, Joseph. I get it. I get it. We have to stop now."

"Yes, but we can still dance. Come on, Clarisse. Sing with me."

Clarisse giggled a young-girl-in-love's giggle, and then she sang with him, "Wise men say…only fools rush in…but I can't help…falling in love with you."


	19. Baby Showers

**Chapter 19: Baby Showers**

Not long after Shades had gotten Marjorie to covertly defy the orders of Queen Clarisse to not disturb Joseph's poker game with the boys in the security hub, Queen Mia had officially called it a day and left her office, marking the end of Shades's shift. Queen Mia went into the kitchen for an early supper, and Shades decided to go out for a little stroll through the palace grounds himself. He certainly hadn't wanted to intrude on what little privacy Queen Clarisse and Joseph could find for themselves, though, of course, and he knew that if he should happen to come across them, he would just quickly go in the opposite direction before they saw him.

It wasn't long until Shades ran into Lionel, who had his eyes fixed on Queen Clarisse and Joseph and was staring at them in shock.

"Look at them," he whispered in Shades's ear.

Shades watched as the couple made out on the bridge, and he laughed and said happily, "Yes, indeed. Look at them, how happy they are."

Even though Shades was a good bit younger than Joseph, he had been his best friend as well as his second-in-command of the royal security staff all these years, and he'd known what had been going on underneath Joseph's tough exterior all along. He'd known better than anyone the feelings his old buddy had had for the Queen, and thanks to Shades's girlfriend of many years, Charlotte Kutaway, who of course had previously been Queen Clarisse's personal assistant, he'd known that Queen Clarisse shared those feelings. Like a lot of the people who'd surrounded the couple in all the years they'd worked together, Shades knew perfectly well what Queen Clarisse's royal position had robbed both of them of for so long, so it was very gratifying for everyone to see them finally together as husband and wife. And seeing them actually getting this miracle baby only made them that much happier. And seeing them _make out_ this evening was just icing on the cake for Shades. He was immensely happy for his best friend and Queen Clarisse. They deserved this so much.

Shades couldn't stop laughing while Lionel remained stunned. " _I have never_ seen _either one of them_ like this before."

"Neither have I," Shades said with a great big smile. "Refreshing, isn't it?"

"If you say so. Personally, I think this is going to give me nightmares for weeks," the young man declared, and Shades just rolled his eyes. Lionel was young, of course, and he was still at the age where the thought of a man and a woman falling in love with each other and actually _expressing_ those feelings for one another was unimaginable if they happened to be past forty.

"Alright, son. Get back to your post."

"Yes, sir," Lionel told him, and then he quickly left.

A moment later, as they started dancing, Shades really laughed out loud, and he quietly said to himself, "Good for you, boss. Good for you. An evening of making out and dancing sure beats poker." Then after a few more seconds, Shades left for his own evening stroll – _away_ from Joseph and Queen Clarisse in order to try to give them a _little_ bit of privacy, anyway.

And even though Clarisse was now in the final weeks of her pregnancy and had expected to be miserable at this time, over the next several days, things actually remained as happy and pleasant for her as they were on that lovely evening she and Joseph spent together. A few days after that beautiful evening, Mia threw Clarisse a baby shower in her office, which Clarisse really enjoyed. Charlotte and several other ladies serving in Parliament attended, including Lady Martin, as well as Marjorie, and Sebastian's wife Sheila and daughter Marissa. Clarisse got all kinds of baby gifts, everything from rattles to blankets to diapers, but the one gift that touched her the most was a special gift from Mia.

While Mia had taken all that time off work to recover from her hysterectomy, she'd really needed a project to get her mind off of everything she was going through, and she'd decided that she wanted to make something special for Isaac. She eventually decided that she'd like to make him a blanket or something to wear or something like that, so when she learned how good Marjorie was at sewing, she asked her to teach her, and Marjorie had happy to oblige. Mia had still been going through a lot of her mood swings at the time, and it had taken her quite a while to catch on, but thankfully, Marjorie was very understanding and very patient. And even though it had taken Mia a good while to catch on, when she eventually did, she did incredibly well. Mia had hoped to have a special onesie finished in time for the baby shower that had Isaac's name on it, as well as a blanket she'd started sewing for him, but even though she had tried to get both things done, she simply hadn't been able to, especially since she'd resumed her full workload as Queen. However, she _had_ been able to get the little onesie finished, and she was very pleased with the way it turned out, so she'd given that to her grandma at the baby shower. It had been the last gift Clarisse had opened.

"There were actually two things that I wanted to get finished making for Isaac before the baby shower today, but I was only able to get this one thing completed. I think you'll really like it, though," Mia had told her as she handed her a small box with shiny light blue wrapping paper and a white bow on top. She and Clarisse were sitting on the loveseat together, and all the other ladies were gathered around them in chairs, eating the special cake the chef had baked for the occasion and drinking fruit punch. "I think it turned out very well."

"Oh, thank you, love. I'm sure Isaac and I will both love it," Clarisse assured her, and then she tore off the wrapping paper, gracefully as ever like always, and she opened the small white box. When Clarisse saw the simple white onesie with the name "Isaac" stitched on it in different-colored letters, her heart really melted. "Oh, Mia," she said softly as she took it out and held it up for everyone to see, and then all the other ladies oohed and aahed. The "I" was red; the "s" was blue; the first "a" was dark green; the second "a" was a lime-colored green, and the "c" was yellow, and the rest of the onesie was a simple white. "Mia, darling, I don't know what to say. It's _adorable._ It is simply _adorable._ It's _beautiful_ , honey. Oh, you must have worked so hard on this."

"She did, Your Majesty," Marjorie was quick to inform her. She wanted Queen Clarisse to know that her granddaughter really had put a great deal of effort into her present for her. "Queen Mia worked very hard. She put a lot of work into that."

"I can tell she did," Clarisse agreed while Mia smiled brightly. Clarisse's praise and approval had always meant a great deal to her. "Oh, thank you, my dear," she said as she put her arm around Mia's shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Grandma. Marjorie's been teaching me how to sew here lately because I wanted to make something for Isaac myself for the baby shower. I've been working on a blanket for him as well, but I wasn't able to get it and the onesie finished in time, so I was only able to give you the onesie today."

"Oh, Mia, this is plenty. Don't worry about the blanket. Just finish it whenever you're able to. It's no big deal. I know better than anyone how much work a queen has to accomplish during the day. I am _perfectly_ happy with this. I just love it."

"I'm glad you like it so much," Mia said, and then she and Clarisse and all the other ladies continued with their cake, punch, and conversation.

In the meantime, while the ladies had been having their shower for Clarisse in Mia's office, Shades and the boys surprised Joseph with his own "man shower." With dads more involved than ever in parenting in Genovia and all over the world, baby showers for fathers-to-be were becoming more and more popular. When one of the guards on the security staff, David Hamilton, was expecting his first baby two years ago, several of his buddies from college actually threw him his own "man shower," and one of the games they played at his shower involved a contest to see who could chug beer from baby bottles the fastest. As a matter of fact, David and his wife were expecting their second baby girl in another five weeks, and Kevin and his wife were also expecting their third baby, due in exactly one week, so the surprise "man shower" was just as much for the two of them as it was for Joseph.

However, at first, Joseph wasn't too sure of the whole idea. "Now look, Shades, boys, I appreciate all this. I really do. _But I am not_ wasting my afternoon drinking beer out of baby bottles and making a fool out of myself. That's just stupid."

Lionel stepped in then and said, "No, boss, it's cool. This shower's nothing at all like that. We all knew you'd never go for that kind of stuff. See, this is a _practical_ man shower. You, Kevin, and Dave will spend the day competing in our special Daddy-To-Be Poker Playing Tournament where you'll compete against each other for all these baby goodies."

Lionel then motioned towards a whole bunch of baby supplies that were stacked up against the wall. There were _tons_ of packages of diapers and baby wipes and cans of baby formula, and there were also several baby strollers, baby swings, car seats, baby carriers, and baby bouncers, and there were also several special baby goodies. There was one special baby stroller that was not only just a stroller, but also had the combination of a car seat that could be taken out of it and used as a baby carrier, baby rocker, and a bassinet. There was also one special baby swing that had a baby bouncer seat in it that could be removed. There were four or five of each of the regular simple baby swings, baby strollers, car seats, baby carriers, and baby bouncers that the guys could compete for, but only _one_ of the special kind of baby swing and baby stroller that had the combination of other things added that the guys would compete for in the last couple of hands of poker that they played.

After Lionel explained everything to Joseph, Kevin, and David, Kevin and David were instantly sold on the idea, and after thinking about it for a brief moment, Joseph said, "Now _that_ makes sense." He then looked at the nearby card table and chairs everyone had had set up for them with the deck of cards just waiting to be played, and a second later, he looked over at Kevin and David, and he told them, "Sit down, boys. I'll deal."

"Yes, sir!" said Kevin enthusiastically.

"Right on, boss," said David, and then they sat down together and got started.

There was a spare bedroom in Joseph's and Clarisse's suite that had long since been converted into a nursery for Isaac. The walls had been repainted with a lovely sky blue background with white clouds, and Joseph had put together Isaac's matching sky blue crib months ago. The carpet was white, and the rocking chair that was right next to the crib was also sky blue, as was the nearby changing table and playpen. The small walk-in closet was filled to the brim with baby clothes and baby toys and other things, and Joseph, who was now far too famous because of his marriage to Queen Clarisse to be able to go out and buy things on his own anymore, had tried to make arrangements with Shades for one of the boys to buy other things like a baby swing, car seat, etc., but he'd always made some excuse as to why no one had been able to before. But today, of course, Joseph now knew what they'd been up to.

Joseph wasn't an addicted gambler by any means. Whenever he'd played poker with the boys through the years, they'd always used poker chips and had never played for any actual money. Poker was simply an enjoyable card game that Joseph enjoyed playing whenever he hung out with the guys, and it was a game that after all these years, he had truly become an expert at. While Kevin and David were both pretty good players, neither one of them could _really_ compare to Joseph and deep down, everybody there knew it. So as they started playing, Joseph made up his mind from the very beginning that he would win just enough "baby goodies," as Lionel called them, to be fair. He would win one third of the diapers, formula, baby wipes, and other things and he would lose the remaining games on purpose and let David and Kevin battle the rest of the stuff out between them. However, when it came to the special combination baby swing and combination baby stroller they would be playing for at the end, Joseph _also_ made up his mind that he _would_ win those. Kevin and David could have the other ordinary individual swings, strollers, carriers, etc., but he wanted the combination swing and combination stroller for Clarisse and Isaac. He wasn't trying to be selfish towards Kevin and David, but he only wanted the best for his family and he was going to make sure he got it for them.

And naturally, in the end, that is _exactly_ what he did. Joseph allowed himself to win enough games to take home one third of the diapers and other baby supplies, and in the last two games, he won the special baby stroller and baby swing. And although the baby stroller had a special car seat that could be taken out of it that also doubled as a baby rocker and bassinet, and although the baby swing also had a baby bouncer seat that could also be removed, since there were more than enough of the other regular baby swings, baby strollers, car seats, baby carriers, and baby bouncers to go around, Joseph allowed himself to win one of each of them to keep around as a backup.

After the big "man shower" tournament was over, Joseph did have a couple of beers and some snacks with Shades and the boys in the security hub. Then after everything finally died down and Kevin and David went home with their loot and all the other guys left, Shades said, "You _let_ them win all that stuff, didn't you, Joseph?"

"Well I couldn't just dominate the whole tournament, Anthony," Joseph replied. "Kevin and David are expecting dads, too."

"Yes, but this is David's second baby and Kevin's third. They probably have a lot of this other stuff already. This is your _first_ , boss. Everybody knows _no one_ can beat _you_ in a poker game unless you let them. Maybe Dave and Kevin like to _tell themselves_ that the beat you on their own, but deep down, even _they_ know that they only won the games they did because you allowed them to. And they wouldn't have held it against you if you'd won everything. We all know you had the skill to."

Joseph shook his head and said, "Nah. That wouldn't have been right. Dave and Kevin may not be first-time dads like me, but still, they're just young kids." Anthony had to stifle a laugh then because David was twenty-eight and Kevin was thirty-five. Shades was only five years older than Kevin. But to the boss, who'd been a real father figure to all of them for so many years, they would always be "young kids." "Can't make the kids feel bad," Joseph said, interrupting Anthony's thoughts.

"Yeah, I guess not," Shades agreed, and then he gave his old friend a good slap on the back. "Hey, what do you say I give you a hand carrying all this stuff upstairs to your suite, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. Thanks."

"You got it, Pop," Shades said as they got up from their seats, and then Joseph laughed a little.

"Pop," he said quietly with a smile. "Me. A dad. After all these years. Who would've guessed?"

Shades smiled back and said, "Miracles do have a way of happening in our lives, right at the moment when we least expect them."

"You can say that again! Jesus is full of surprises, isn't He?"

"I've never known the good Lord to be the predictable sort, boss. And frankly, I'm glad. Out of all the men on earth He could have picked to give this miracle to, I think He _definitely_ picked the right one. I'm so happy for you and Queen Clarisse. You two deserve some happiness together after all these years, and I can tell you honestly that everybody here feels the same."

Again Joseph smiled, and then he actually gave Shades a little hug and told him, "Thanks, man. That means a lot."

It was obviously rare that Joseph did anything like that, but his sudden show of affection towards his old buddy didn't make Shades feel uncomfortable at all, and in fact he was very touched by it. Sure, Joseph was a tough "manly man," but Shades always knew what a softy he really was underneath it all.

"Just telling the truth, Joseph. Just telling the truth," Shades told him after the hug was over.

A moment later, Joseph said, "Okay. Let's get to work."

"You got it, boss," Shades said and then they began carrying all the "baby goodies" upstairs.

After their job was done and it was just Joseph alone with Clarisse in the living area of their suite a little while later, Clarisse said to her husband knowingly with a smile, " _You let_ Kevin and David win all the other things, didn't you?"

"Well, I couldn't just clean everything out. I had to let those boys win _some_ things, Clarisse."

Clarisse laughed and said, "Well that was very sweet and generous of you."

Joseph walked closer to where Clarisse was standing then and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, and he said to her flirtatiously, "Well you just _happen_ to be married to a very sweet and generous guy."

"And a very _modest_ guy, too," Clarisse teased, and Joseph laughed. "I _am_ glad you decided to win this fancy baby stroller and baby swing, though. You say this baby stroller doubles as a car seat, baby carrier, baby rocker, _and_ bassinet?"

"Yes, it does," Joseph happily replied, clearly _very_ pleased with himself for having won that for the baby.

"Now _that_ is _very_ practical. Very impressive. I really like that," Clarisse said, and Joseph beamed at his wife's praise.

Joseph laid another kiss on her and said, "I'm glad, sweetheart. I'm glad. And what all did you get from Mia and the other ladies today?"

"Like you, I was given _plenty_ of diapers. I also got a lot of baby toys and pacifiers and blankets and things. I also got a lot of baby clothes, and speaking of baby clothes, you'll never guess what Mia's been up to. Did you know she's actually been learning how to sew from Marjorie?"

"I actually heard a thing or two about that on the grapevine, as a matter of fact. Did she sew something for you for your shower?"

" _Yes!_ " Clarisse replied with a big smile, and Joseph smiled in return. Clarisse was typically reserved. She didn't usually show a lot of enthusiasm about things, so Joseph knew that in order for her to show _this_ much excitement, it must've been something she _really_ liked a lot. In that moment, Clarisse went into the nursery, and a few seconds later, she came out with the onesie Mia had made for Isaac with his name stitched on it. "Look at this," she said as she showed it to Joseph, and he laughed.

"Did she actually sew this herself?"

"Yes, she did. And it is _definitely_ my favorite present out of everything I got at my shower today. _I just love it._ "

"Now _that is_ cute," Joseph said with another big smile. He, too, was touched by Mia's gift, and he could easily see just how much it meant to Clarisse. It meant a great deal to both of them, of course, because of everything Mia had recently gone through.

"You can tell she really worked hard on this."

"Yes, I'm sure she did."

"Oh Joseph, we have to make sure to remember to be very generous with Isaac when it comes to Mia. We have to be sure to let her have a lot of time with him. We need to remember to share him with her as much as possible. It's important, especially after everything that's happened these past couple of months."

"I know it is, darling," Joseph said softly. "I know. And we will. We won't forget that Isaac is Mia's baby, too."

"Good," Clarisse said, and then she yawned.

"Okay. Speaking of Isaac, I think he's letting you know that it's his bedtime."

"It's only six-forty-five. But then again, I'd better take the chance to sleep whenever I can get it because Isaac will have me up again with his gymnastics in no time at all!"

"Exactly," Joseph agreed, and then he gave her another kiss. "Go lie down. Rest."

"I'll need it!" Clarisse said as she headed to change into some pajamas.

In that moment, as Joseph really began to think about all the sleepless nights he had ahead of him, _he_ started getting tired, too! "I'll join you, Clarisse. You're not the only one who'll need as much rest as they can get!" When he said that, Clarisse laughed out loud, knowing all too well just how right he was.


	20. Maneuvers

**Note to readers:** First off, thanks to everyone who has faved, followed, or reviewed _Cherished_. I always appreciate the support! :) Second, I just want to warn you guys because the ride is about to get a little crazy, so buckle your seat belts. You have been warned. ***Wink***

 **Chapter 20: Maneuvers**

Two weeks before her due date, Dr. Hart once again confirmed that everything was coming along well for both Clarisse and Baby Isaac, and she also confirmed that he could arrive at any time now.

"Frankly, I'm really quite surprised that he hasn't come along already," she told Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia in Dr. Mackenzie's exam room in the palace. "It is very common for older mothers to go into labor prematurely. I was halfway expecting Isaac to be a few weeks premature."

"Well I am glad that he hasn't come prematurely, doctor," said Clarisse as she sat on the exam table. "However, _I do hope_ he won't take as long to come as his brothers did! _I went crazy_ waiting for them to get here, and they were _both_ two weeks late."

"In normal pregnancies, you can expect babies to come at any time from two weeks before the due date to two weeks after the due date. Since you're older, though, I really wouldn't expect Isaac to take too much longer. I'm confident it'll be soon," Dr. Hart assured them, and Clarisse couldn't help but notice the light of joy and excitement in Joseph's eyes when she said that. Clarisse had been through this twice before with Pierre and Philippe, but this was Joseph's first – _and last_ – baby. And although she would never tell him this to his face, the way Joseph had shown the excitement and enthusiasm of a first-time daddy all during the pregnancy had been so cute to her. Joseph was definitely a "man's man" in every way, of course, but he also had another side to him that was incredibly sweet and endearing. He had been so involved in everything every step of the way, whereas Rupert had been too wrapped up in being the King of Genovia in order to really be a very involved husband and expectant father back when Clarisse had been expecting Pierre and Philippe. Clarisse knew she _never_ would have seen the kind of thrill and anticipation in Rupert's eyes that she was now seeing in Joseph's.

Clarisse then looked into her granddaughter's face, and the impatient, excited look in Mia's eyes was equally endearing, especially after what she'd recently been through with her hysterectomy. "Oh, _wow!_ Isaac's coming soon! That's so cool! I can't wait!" she said, and Clarisse laughed.

"I can't wait, either," Joseph agreed. "Frankly, the suspense is making me a nervous wreck. I don't know if I can take much more."

" _Oh, I know!_ " Mia said aloud. "Me, too! Dr. Hart, these past couple of weeks, I've kept remembering what you've told us before about older women typically going into labor sooner, and I have just been going _crazy_ inside! The due date may not be for another couple of weeks, but I'm not sure I can last that long!"

"Oh, I am _so sorry_ the final days of _my_ pregnancy are so hard on _the two of you_ ," Clarisse said sarcastically, and Dr. Hart had a big laugh at that. And she continued laughing louder and louder as Clarisse told Joseph and Mia, " _I am so sorry_ that _you two_ have to endure all these backaches and all the swelling on your feet and all the heartburn and all the sleepless nights from the baby _relentlessly_ kicking inside you and the way you have to _constantly_ feel hot all the time and all the–"

"Okay, Clarisse," Joseph said with a laugh, and then he kissed her. "Okay, sweetheart. We get it. We're sorry we were complaining so much just now."

"Yeah, Grandma, we're sorry. You're right. All of this _is_ way harder on you than it is on us. Is there anything we can do to make you feel better right now?"

Again, Clarisse laughed, and she replied, "No, darling. I was only kidding with you two just now. I'm feeling quite well at the moment. As a matter of fact, I'm actually feeling rather energetic." Clarisse held out her hand then and Joseph took it and helped her down off the exam table. "And there's no since in letting my burst of energy go to waste. I should go upstairs and organize everything in the closet of Isaac's nursery."

"Clarisse, you've organized that closet _ten times_ in the past _three days_ ," said Joseph.

"Yes, but I'm still not entirely happy with the way I organized everything in there. I'm certain I can come up with a better system of organization if I just keep working at it."

Joseph jokingly rolled his eyes at his wife in that moment, and Dr. Hart had another good laugh. "Look out, Joseph, my good man," she told him. "I think somebody's nesting."

"Somebody's _been_ nesting. _For days_ ," Joseph playfully pretended to complain.

"It's not nesting," Clarisse insisted. "It's simply _organizing._ And organization is a very, _very_ necessary aspect of parenting."

Dr. Hart laughed once again, and then she patted Clarisse on the back and told her, "Organize away, Clarisse, my love, if it makes you feel better. Just don't overdo it."

"There's hardly any danger of that with these two around," said Clarisse. "They watch me like _hawks_. And if they see me lift anything heavier than a paperclip, they have a heart attack."

"We're just looking out for you and Isaac, Grandma. You know you can't do any heavy lifting while you're pregnant."

"Mia, I went to pick up an _apple_ in the kitchen this morning, and you stopped me and picked it up and handed it to me. I don't think picking up an _apple_ qualifies as 'heavy lifting.'"

"An apple and not a banana?" said Dr. Hart.

"Oh, I still have to have my daily bananas, doctor, but earlier this morning, I was really in the mood for something a bit different."

"I understand."

"Well, Dr. Hart, thank you very much for everything," Clarisse said as she shook hands with her.

"It's my pleasure, my dear Queen."

"And now if you'll excuse me–"

"You have some organizing to do," she finished Clarisse's sentence, and Clarisse smiled.

" _Yes._ I have some organizing to do."

Mia and Joseph said their goodbyes to Dr. Hart then as well, and Mia walked out of the exam room with her grandma. Before Joseph could leave, though, Dr. Hart stopped him.

"Joseph, may I have a word with you for a moment?" she asked him.

"Certainly, doctor. What is it?"

"A word of advice from someone who is not only your wife's OB/GYN, but who is _also_ a woman who has been through all of this before herself: no more cracks, and no more complaining."

"I know I shouldn't have complained about how hard the waiting is–"

"It's not just that. Do not complain about it or tease her about it if your wife needs to nest. I told you in the beginning that birth was all about instinct, and as our dear Queen is getting closer to giving birth, her natural maternal instincts are telling her to make sure your home environment is perfectly ready and organized for when Isaac gets here. If your wife needs to nest, _let her nest_ , and above all else, be understanding and be supportive. It's very important to just simply allow Queen Clarisse to follow her instincts now."

"I hear you, doc. And you're right. I shouldn't tease Clarisse about it if she needs to nest right now. You know, this really brings back memories. Organizing and reorganizing our nursery closet is nothing compared to what she started doing a couple of weeks before Pierre and Philippe were born. Back then, she reorganized the entire palace! She drove the chefs crazy in the kitchen reorganizing everything in the refrigerator and the cupboards, and then she drove the maids crazy reorganizing the big closet where they kept their cleaning supplies. She even reorganized the entire office, which as you know, belonged to King Rupert in those days."

Dr. Hart chuckled and said, "Well you know, maybe a little spring cleaning will be good for the palace, should our Queen decide that she wants to reorganize it again. Sounds like you're going to be very busy over these next couple of weeks or so."

Joseph laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess so." Then he shook her hand and told her, "Well anyway, thanks for everything, Dr. Hart. I'd better run along now and see if my wife needs any help with the closet."

"It's always a pleasure, Joseph. I'll see you and Queen Clarisse again soon."

"See you soon, doc," Joseph with a wave as he walked out the door.

Joseph spent the rest of that morning helping Clarisse reorganize the closet in the nursery, as well as the nursery itself, and then after they had lunch and Clarisse laid down for a nap, he went down to the security hub, just to see what all was happening with the boys that day. Joseph may have been retired now, but he was still very much a part of the daily activity in the security hub. Shades might have officially taken over Joseph's position, but in Anthony's eyes and in _all_ their eyes, Joseph would always be "the boss."

"Hiya, boss. What's happening?" asked Lionel. Lionel had gotten on his and Anthony's nerves at first, but over the past ten months, he really had proven himself to be a decent, hardworking young man and they both came to like him, even though he could still be annoying to them from time to time.

"Not much, Lionel. Just helping the Queen do a little reorganizing."

"Oh, yeah. I heard she's in the nesting phase now," Lionel told him. It was hard for anything to remain a secret in their palace for very long.

"Hi, guys," Mia's voice called out, and immediately, the relaxed atmosphere of the hub changed. All the guys that had been sitting down were now practically standing at attention at the presence of their Queen, as was Lionel. Shades walked in behind her a moment later. "Guys, guys, relax," she told them. "This is just a social call. I don't have another appointment until two, and I _refuse_ to do any paperwork right now because I'm sick of it," she said and they laughed. "And since I don't have anything to do and I'm refusing to work on my paperwork, I just thought I'd come around and hang out with all of you if that's okay." Joseph smiled. Mia was very strong like her grandmother, but she had a very different style of ruling than Clarisse did. Clarisse constantly kept everything professional. She never really spent any time socializing with the rest of the palace staff, but Mia was _always_ doing things like this. Everyone had found it unnerving at first. Nobody was ever really used to "hanging out" with the Queen of Genovia, but people soon got used to it and, in fact, found it very endearing that she would take the time to really get to know them and "hang out" with them the way she frequently did.

"More than okay, Your Majesty," said Kevin, and then he pulled out a chair for her. "Please, have a seat."

"Oh, no thanks, Kevin. I appreciate the thought, but I've been sitting down in meetings all day today. I'd really rather stand now."

"Of course," Kevin responded.

"So Kev, Dave, how are your wives doing?" Mia asked them.

"Zoe's doing well, Your Majesty," David replied. "She's impatient for the baby to get here, like me, but she's doing alright."

"That's great."

"Ashley's doing well, too, Your Majesty," said Kevin.

"I'm glad to hear that. Are your wives nesting like Grandma?"

"Not yet," answered David, just as Joseph grabbed a handful of peanuts to munch on out of the small glass candy dish that was sitting in the middle of one of the tables.

"All the time," Kevin replied. "She has cleaned and organized _everything_." The moment Kevin said that, unbeknownst to everybody else who was engrossed in Queen Mia's presence and in the conversation, Joseph began to choke. "If I hadn't kept moving yesterday, Ashley would've cleaned my eyeballs," Kevin joked.

It was in that instant that Mia saw Joseph holding his throat, and she quickly walked over to him and asked, "Hey Grandpa, are you okay? What's wrong?" When everyone realized it then that Joseph was unable to speak, Mia cried out, "Oh, God! He's choking! Shades, run and get Dr. Mackenzie in here _now!_ "

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and then he immediately took off running.

A second later, Mia very quickly got behind Joseph and gave him five hard, quick blows between his shoulder blades with the heel of her hand.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing to him?" Lionel asked.

"I'm trying to help him," she answered as she was delivering the blows.

"It's standard First Aid for when somebody's choking, you idiot," Kevin snapped at Lionel. Lionel was literally the _only_ person on the security staff who didn't know CPR and First Aid, which was a requirement for _all_ security interns. He simply hadn't taken the necessary courses yet. He'd been meaning to, but he kept getting busy with other things and putting it off.

When the blows didn't work, Mia wrapped her arms around Joseph's waist and performed a series of abdominal thrusts, a procedure called the Heimlich maneuver. _Mercifully_ , after the fourth abdominal thrust, Mia successfully got the peanuts dislodged from Joseph's airway and he was able to breathe again.

"Grandpa, are you alright now? Are you okay? Are you alright?" Mia asked him nervously.

Joseph smiled then and said, "Yes, I'm fine now. Thanks to you, I can breathe again."

"Thank God," Mia whispered, and then she gave him the biggest hug. Joseph then kissed the top of Mia's head and held her in his embrace for several long moments. "I was never more scared in my life," Mia told him as he continued to hug her.

"It's okay, sweetheart. It's alright. I'm fine now. It's over, thanks to all your help."

"Joseph, are you alright? What's going on?" Dr. Mackenzie asked then as he and Shades walked into the security hub.

Joe and Mia let go of each other in that moment, and he replied, "I was choking a minute ago, Dr. Mackenzie, but my _wonderful_ granddaughter just saved my life with the Heimlich maneuver."

Mia smiled and blushed then and said, "Ah, it was nothing," with a wave of her hand.

"Your Majesty, you just saved the boss's life!" Kevin cried out. "I'd hardly call that nothing."

"Where did you learn about First Aid?" Joseph asked Mia.

"Oh, I took a course in college," Mia explained.

"Really, Your Majesty?" said Dr. Mackenzie.

"Yes."

"I never knew that. A queen who can save lives. Fantastic! Maybe you missed your calling. Maybe you ought to step down from the throne and go to medical school and become a doctor so you can keep me company all day long," he kidded. "It gets boring in that office day after day."

Mia laughed and said, "Sorry doc, but I'm happy being a queen. Anyway, you really should examine my grandpa now, just to make sure he's alright."

" _I'm fine_ , Mia," Joseph insisted.

"No, Joseph, the Queen is right. It is a good idea for you to come to my office so I can take a look at you, just to make certain everything's okay now."

Joseph certainly didn't _want_ to. Like Clarisse, he was also never a big fan of doctor's visits, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it from Mia, Shades, and the rest of the gang in the security hub if he didn't go to Dr. Mackenzie's office now, so he agreed.

Just before he left, though, he turned around and said to all the guys, "Now listen, fellas. I don't want _one word_ of this to get back to Clarisse. I don't want anything upsetting her right now, so you guys just keep this to yourselves. Is that understood?"

"Yes, boss," Shades and all the other guys answered.

"Come on, Grandpa," Mia said as she linked her arm through Joseph's. "I'll go with you."

"That's really not necessary, dear. I'm fine."

"I know, but I want to escort you to the doctor's anyway," she said as she, Joseph, and Dr. Mackenzie started walking together to his office.

"Why?" Joseph asked.

"Two reasons. One: to make sure you actually _go_ ," Mia answered, and Dr. Mackenzie laughed. "And two: this gives me the _perfect_ excuse to continue to procrastinate on all my paperwork."

They both laughed at that, and Joseph kidded, "Well, I'm happy I can be of service."

Dr. Mackenzie quickly determined in his exam room a few minutes later that Joseph was perfectly fine, and after his exam was over and he left the room, Joseph gave Mia another big hug, and he kissed her cheek, and that easily conveyed to Mia all the love and gratitude Joseph felt in his heart for her for what she did for him today. In that moment, Mia simply looked up at her grandpa and told him, "You're welcome," and then he gave her another hug. "Sorry I had to hit you, though."

Joseph laughed and said, "Are you _kidding?_ I'm _grateful_ you hit me. Please, don't apologize for saving my life."

"I just did what any of the other guys would have done; what any _granddaughter_ would have done."

Joseph smiled at her and told her, "Sweet girl, I do love you."

Mia returned the smile and said, "I love you too, Joey."

"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny," he said with a roll of his eyes while Mia laughed. Joseph _never_ liked being called "Joey" and Mia did call him that from time to time just to tease him. It was an old joke between them.

"And don't worry. I won't breathe a word of this to Grandma."

"Good girl," Joseph said, and then they both left the exam room.

Later on that evening, a while after Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia had all had supper, Clarisse and Joseph were sitting on the couch in the living area of their suite when Lionel came to see them.

Clarisse and Joseph were standing together with Lionel in the foyer when Joseph asked him, "What can we do for you?"

"Nothing, sir. The guys just wanted to know how you were this evening. That's all."

"We're fine, thanks," Joseph answered. He really wanted to get the young man _away_ from there before he ended up blabbing everything to Clarisse. Lionel _was_ a good kid, but he _did_ have a knack for stirring up trouble every now and then.

"That's good. They'll be glad to hear it," said Lionel.

"Did all of you have a good day today in the security hub, Lionel?" Clarisse asked, and Joseph _really_ wanted to be rude in that moment and just shove Lionel out the door.

"It was…a very _interesting_ day, Your Majesty. Let's just say some…interesting maneuvers were performed in the security hub today."

"Really? What kind of maneuvers?" Clarisse innocently asked, and then Joseph gave Lionel a quick but _hard_ thump on the back of his head.

"Never mind that, Clarisse. Never mind," Joseph said in that moment, and then he _did_ shove Lionel out the door. "Goodbye, Lionel," he said as he closed the doors in the young man's face.

"Now Joseph, that was very rude," Clarisse scolded him.

"It's getting late, my dear. I wasn't going to let him keep you up," Joseph said as he put his arm around her shoulders and started walking with her to the bedchamber of their suite. "You know how important it is for you to rest now."

"Well, yes, but we still could have invited him for a cup of tea or something. We could have talked to him for ten minutes."

"No, we couldn't," Joseph said stubbornly.

"Yes, we could have."

"Well maybe I'm just really anxious to get my wife in bed tonight," Joseph teased, and Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"Why? For the snooze-fest of the century?"

"Hey, snoozing is a very important activity."

"You're hiding something," Clarisse said knowingly. She understood her husband very well after all these years, naturally.

"Like what?" he asked as they stepped into their bedroom. "What am I hiding?"

"I don't know but I can tell it has something to do with Lionel's maneuvers he was talking about."

Joseph kissed Clarisse then and said, "Forget about Lionel's maneuvers. Let's just maneuver ourselves into bed for the night."

"Oh, alright," Clarisse obliged, and then she and Joseph got changed for bed and laid down in bed together.

Clarisse was lying on her left side and Joseph was also lying on his left side right next to her with his arm wrapped around her waist and his hand resting on her round abdomen. They frequently slept like that. Joseph remained lying beside Clarisse, waiting to fall asleep as usual for the next twenty minutes or so, when all of the sudden, he felt Clarisse's entire abdomen tighten.

In that moment, Joseph instantly realized what was happening: _Clarisse was having a contraction!_ Joseph then quickly turned on the light over Clarisse's nightstand and said, "Clarisse, I just felt it. I just felt your first contraction. We have to get ready to go to the hospital. _It's time!_ "


	21. Marital Honesty

**Chapter 21: Marital Honesty**

" _It's time, Clarisse!_ " Joseph shouted. " _It's time!_ I'll call Shades and have him get a car ready for us," he announced as he hopped out of bed.

Clarisse sat up in bed then and told her husband, "Calm down, Joseph. Just take a deep breath and calm down."

"I am calm," he insisted as he then started taking off his pair of gray oversized pajamas – only to reveal the black shirt and pants he'd been wearing _underneath_ the pajamas the entire time! A moment later, he sat down on the side of the bed and started putting on his shoes, and as he was doing that, he said to Clarisse, "I am _perfectly_ calm. I'm also perfectly _prepared_."

Clarisse laughed and said, "I can see that! Joseph, _how long_ have you been sleeping with your clothes on underneath your pajamas?"

"Never mind that. I'll get your bag." Clarisse and Joseph had packed a special overnight bag full of things for both Clarisse and the baby to take to the hospital several weeks ago.

"You don't need to get the bag right now, love. I'm not going into labor."

"Yes, you are. I just _felt_ your contraction."

Clarisse smiled knowingly and shook her head and said, "It's just false labor."

Joseph, still sitting on his side of the bed, turned to face her then and said, " _False_ labor?"

"Yes. Many women start to have false labor pains a couple of weeks or so before giving birth. There were several times when I was pregnant with Pierre that I was _sure_ I was going into labor, but the doctor we had here in the palace back then told me after he examined me that it was in fact false labor. He explained it to me that it was simply my body's way of practicing for the real thing. I had a lot of false labor pains before Philippe was born, too."

" _Are you certain_ that it's only false labor?" Joseph asked.

"Oh, yes. After two pregnancies, I'm quite sure. It may have been a pretty long time since I was pregnant, but I remember everything I went through like it was yesterday."

"Well I think we ought to get April in here to examine you, just to make sure everything's alright. This is a high-risk pregnancy, after all." April Sanders was the midwife who'd been staying in the palace over the past six weeks, just to keep an eye on Clarisse and Isaac. Dr. Hart and Dr. Mackenzie recommended that April be there to help look after them, just to be on the safe side. "And maybe we ought to take you to see Dr. Mackenzie, too."

Clarisse had a big laugh, and she told Joseph, "Darling, it's very sweet that you're so concerned, but Isaac and I are perfectly fine. _I promise you_ , when I _do_ go into real labor, I will be able to tell. And the very _instant_ that happens, _you_ will be the very _first_ person to know."

"How can you tell the difference between real and false labor pains?"

"Real contractions are more intense and they last longer, and they come at regular intervals. False labor pains only last about twenty seconds or so and they're sporadic."

"Well I want to get April in here to have a look at you–"

" _Joseph_ –" Clarisse protested.

"Just to be on the safe side," he insisted. "We cannot be too careful. And after she examines you, I want the doctor to examine you, too." Dr. Mackenzie and his wife did in fact live in the palace so that he could be on call for the Royal Family twenty-four hours a day.

"I'm telling you, Joseph, _everything is fine._ It's just false labor, and false labor is a perfectly normal thing in the final weeks of pregnancy."

"Clarisse, _we need to make sure_ ," Joseph insisted again. "I'm getting April in here."

In that moment, Joseph got up off their bed and walked out of the bedchamber, and Clarisse knew it then that she'd lost the battle, and she hated that. The last thing in the world she wanted to do now was cause a big uproar in the palace, and she knew that if Joseph got April in there to examine her and then had Dr. Mackenzie examine her on top of that, that was _exactly_ what was going to happen. Everyone would get needlessly stirred up and worried.

Of course, Clarisse was well aware of the fact that her pregnancy was a high-risk pregnancy and she _did_ want to be extra careful, but at the same time, when it came to pregnancy, this was _not_ her first time around the dance floor – unlike her poor husband. She had already been through all of this twice before, and she knew her own body. She'd known all along to expect this, so when she'd started getting irregular pains a week ago that had only lasted about ten or twenty seconds, it hadn't taken her by surprise, and she'd known it was simply false labor. Queen Clarisse Renaldi was both tough _and_ practical, and she was not the kind of person who went running to the doctor over every little thing that came up. She also knew how her dear husband was always worrying about her and Isaac, and the last thing she wanted to do was make him worry even more. She knew Mia was the exact same way, so she'd long since made up her mind that she wasn't going to say a word about it to anyone until she was absolutely _certain_ the pains she was getting were true labor pains.

After April, a short, skinny young black lady with short dark hair and dark eyes, examined Clarisse a few minutes later in Dr. Mackenzie's exam room, she confirmed that Clarisse was in fact right about her pains being false labor. Much to his wife's chagrin, Joseph also got Dr. Mackenzie in there to examine her as well, and he, too, confirmed that it was indeed false labor. Naturally, the second Mia heard that Clarisse was being examined by both the midwife and Dr. Mackenzie, she darted downstairs to the exam room, too, and she was every bit as worried about her as Joseph.

"I don't understand," Joseph complained. "This morning, Dr. Hart told us that it could happen any time now. She even said that she thought Isaac would be coming soon. She never mentioned _anything_ about false labor."

"Oh, false labor is an unfortunate reality of pregnancy, my man. Just like morning sickness, swollen feet, crazy hormones, and hemorrhoids," he said playfully.

Joseph looked at Clarisse in that moment and asked her, "Do you have _hemorrhoids?_ "

" _That_ is a question I will _never_ answer, Joseph, my dear," she replied. "A queen _never_ talks about hemorrhoids."

"Oh, go on, Your Majesty! Tell your husband all about your hemorrhoids! There's nothing wrong with a little marital honesty!" Dr. Mackenzie joked while Clarisse rolled her eyes at him.

"You just hush!" she teased, and then Joseph helped her down off the exam table. "Well, doctor, sorry to trouble you needlessly tonight."

"Nonsense. That's what I'm here for. Dr. Hart is right, though. With your age, Your Majesty, it's actually rather surprising that your pregnancy has lasted _this_ long. I really wouldn't expect Isaac to take too much longer."

"Just how much longer will this false labor continue, doctor?" Joseph asked.

"Oh, it can go on for the rest of the pregnancy, right up until real labor begins." The moment Joseph heard the doctor say that, he groaned, and Dr. Mackenzie laughed. Then he slapped Joseph on the back and told him, "Hang in there, buddy. Hang in there. You guys will get through it."

"Speak for yourself!" Mia joked. "I'm _dying_ of suspense, here!" When she said that, the doctor laughed again. "But anyway, Grandma, I'm just glad you and Isaac are okay."

"Thank you, darling. There's no need to worry. We're both fine. These things simply take time and require patience. I learned that lesson _very_ well from my first two pregnancies. Now, why don't we _all_ just calm down and go back to bed, alright?"

"Alright, Grandma," Mia agreed, and then she kissed her cheek, which made Clarisse smile. Before Mia's battle with cancer, she hadn't really been comfortable with those kinds of displays of affection from her granddaughter, especially in front of others, but now, things really had changed a great deal between them. "Goodnight. Goodnight, Grandpa," she told Joseph as she walked out of the room.

"Goodnight, dear," he responded. A moment later, he and Clarisse said goodnight to Dr. Mackenzie, and then they went back upstairs to their suite.

Once they were both settled, sitting up in bed – and _after_ Clarisse made Joseph take his everyday clothes off _before_ he put his pajamas back on – Joseph asked her, "Clarisse, just how long has this been going on?"

"About a week."

" _A week?!_ You have been having labor pains for _an entire week_ and you didn't tell me?"

Clarisse smiled at Joseph's anxiousness and told him, "Joseph, it's not a big thing."

" _Not a big thing?!_ You're having _contractions_ ; you've been having them for _an entire week_ as your body has been practicing for labor, and you just sit there in bed next to me and tell me it's _not a big thing?_ Clarisse, it's a _very_ big thing!" Clarisse started laughing then, which agitated Joseph. "Would you mind telling me _what_ it is that's so funny?"

"I was just thinking how adorable you are."

"Adorable?"

"Yes. When Rupert and I were expecting, he wasn't nearly as involved in my pregnancies as you've been in this one. He always worked such long hours that when we finally saw each other at the end of the day, it seemed that practically the only thing he ever wanted to do was climb in bed and go to sleep. He was so wrapped up in being a king that he didn't take all that much interest in being an expecting father." _Or in being a husband,_ Joseph thought to himself in that moment. "But _you?_ You sleep with your clothes on underneath your pajamas and get upset at me for not telling you about my false labor pains. You really are adorable. But you really _do_ need to stop worrying so much. My body and I have done this before, and I assure you, if for one instant I believed that something was going wrong, you would be the very _first_ person I would tell."

"Well that is _somewhat_ comforting to hear, but Clarisse, let's you and me get something straight right now: _I'm not Rupert._ Maybe he was more interested in being a king than he was in being a husband, but I'm not like that. I am _extremely_ interested in being a husband to you, and I want to know what's going on with you; with _both_ of you. I want to know _everything._ I want marital honesty between the two of us like Dr. Mackenzie said."

Again, Clarisse smiled. The obvious love and concern Joseph lavished on her and Isaac touched her very deeply, and it meant a very great deal to her. Joseph was a tough bodyguard, yes, but he was also _so_ sweet and sensitive. "Darling, believe me, I am _very_ well aware of the fact that _you_ are _not_ Rupert," she assured him a moment later. "And _I do know_ how important it is for you to be an involved husband and father. That's one of the _many_ reasons why I love you so much. I didn't mean to upset you by keeping this from you. It's just that you get _so_ worried over everything. You really do have a tendency to go a little crazy."

"I am _not_ going crazy."

"You're sleeping with your clothes on underneath your pajamas!"

"That is not craziness. _That_ is being a prepared husband and father-to-be. When it's time for us to go to the hospital, I do not want to waste a single moment in getting you there," Joseph argued, and Clarisse laughed. "And like I said, I want more marital honesty between us. I want to know about it from now on whenever you get a labor pain, even if it is a false one."

"Alright, Joseph," Clarisse said in another laugh, knowing that once again, she'd lost the battle. "Alright. I'll be more honest with you about it in the future whenever I have false labor pains."

"Good. I'm going to hold you to that."

"Very well," Clarisse agreed. Then in the following moment, Clarisse actually _did_ start getting another false labor pain. "Okay, speaking of marital honesty, since you wanted to know about my false labor pains, you may as well know I'm getting one now," she told him.

Joseph then quickly grabbed his watch off his nightstand, which had a stopwatch on it. He held his watch in one hand, and he reached out and took Clarisse's hand with the other. "Okay, sweetheart. Squeeze my hand if you need to."

Clarisse laughed once again, despite the pain of the false labor contraction, and she asked, "Are you _timing_ my false labor pains?"

"Yes. You said one of the ways to tell the difference between real and false labor pains is that real labor pains last longer."

Clarisse rolled her eyes at Joseph, and then a few seconds later, the pain passed. "Okay, there. It's over," she told him.

"Seventeen seconds," Joseph said, and then he got up out of bed.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I'll be right back," he answered. A minute later, he came back in with a notebook and pen in his hand. He sat down on the side of the bed then and started writing, and as he wrote, he said to himself, "Friday, May 26th. 10:27 P.M. Contraction…lasted…seventeen…seconds."

Again, Clarisse laughed, and she asked Joseph, "Are you _keeping track_ of my false labor pains?"

"Yes," Joseph answered as he put the notebook and pen down on his nightstand. "I'm keeping a log. It's a good idea to keep up with what's happening with your contractions."

"Oh, good grief! Joseph, _go to sleep!_ " Clarisse told him as she switched off her light. "Just take a deep breath, calm down, and for heaven's sake, _go to bed._ "

"It's not a bad idea to make a note of these things, Clarisse," Joseph insisted.

"Joseph, take it from someone who's been through this twice before. The birth will happen _when it happens_ and not a moment before. In the meantime, the best thing, the only truly _constructive_ thing we can do is to simply relax."

"I am relaxed."

"Relaxed. Sleeping with your clothes on underneath your pajamas and timing and keeping a record of false labor pains. _That's_ your idea of staying _relaxed?_ "

"You never know when those false labor pains will become _real_ ones, so it is important to keep track of them."

"Go to sleep, Joseph," she told him again as she turned onto her left side, and then he turned his light off and turned onto his left side and wrapped his arm around her waist as he'd done earlier.

"Remember, Clarisse: marital honesty. You'll tell me about _all_ your labor pains from now on, the real ones and the false ones."

"Yes, my love. Marital honesty. _Goodnight._ "

"Goodnight. I love you."

Clarisse smiled, squeezed Joseph's hand, and told him, "I love you, too."


	22. Repercussions of Marital Honesty

**Note to readers:** I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long. It's just that I have been writing nonstop for weeks now and I needed to take a break. But anyway, thanks to everyone who has supported _Cherished_ as always. Thank you to everyone who has followed, faved, or reviewed my story. I really hope you guys will like this next chapter! :)

 **Chapter 22: Repercussions of Marital Honesty**

One night a week later, Mia stood with Jacques in the small, mostly black kitchenette of his studio apartment, helping him chop up vegetables for the salad they were preparing for their dinner together, talking about everything that had been going on in their lives over the past five weeks since they first met. Even though Jacques had come onto her far too strongly in the beginning and even though in the back of her mind, she _did_ agree with her grandparents at first that pursuing a relationship with him was probably a bad idea, she simply couldn't get over the strong attraction she'd felt towards him right from the start, and she couldn't get him out of her mind. Eventually, she did break down and end up calling him, and before she knew it, they were frequently texting and e-mailing each other in addition to all their conversations over the phone, and the more she got to know him, the more she came to really like him, and he truly seemed to feel the same way about her. And as they got to know each other over the past few weeks, they both admitted that they really seemed to have a thing for one another, and they decided to start dating and see where things went between them.

Naturally, she didn't say a word about it to Clarisse and Joseph. For one thing, although they were her grandparents, in all actuality, it really was none of their business if she met a guy she liked and decided she wanted to start dating him. She was almost twenty-two years-old now, she was a college graduate, _and_ she was the ruler of their country. She was _not_ a teenage kid in high school anymore and she did _not_ owe anyone any explanations when it came to who she decided to date, not even her own grandparents. And for another thing, she didn't want them to know about her new relationship with Jacques because she knew if they did, it would really worry them and upset them, and that was the _last_ thing they needed right now.

She _also_ didn't say a word about tonight's little rendezvous with Jacques to her Royal Head of Security. Mia knew that after what happened during hers and her grandmother's day at the "spa," _nobody_ in the palace liked him very much, and that included Shades. And on top of that, she yearned _so_ badly for just a _tiny_ taste of true freedom. Ever since she accepted her title and was officially crowned Princess of Genovia as a teenager, she'd never had a moment of _genuine_ privacy. She'd _always_ had guards around her, taking her places, standing around just outside in the next room. There had always been _somebody_ there, in her business, knowing where she was going and who she was going to see. Mia had known all along that that was simply a part of the life she'd chosen to accept, of course. She'd always known that it was all a part of being a royal, but still, she couldn't help but have times where she wished she could simply go and visit her new boyfriend at his apartment on her own like any other woman in the world, _without_ having to tell a bunch of guards about it and make security arrangements. She had become good friends with Shades and the rest of his men, and really, with _everybody_ on the palace staff since she first moved to Genovia full-time last year, but still, she couldn't help but want to have the freedom and the independence to be able to go on a date with her new boyfriend _without_ having to tell practically fifty different people where she was going and have some of them go with her.

Finally, at the urging of Jacques, she came up with a plan. When Shades went off duty the evening before and the night shift took over, Mia had a long talk with three of the younger guys on the night shift and explained her situation. Since they were newer additions to the staff and closer to her age, they agreed to Mia's request _a lot_ easier than someone like Joseph or Shades would have, _if_ they even would have agreed to it _at all_. Basically, they agreed to keep Mia's relationship with Jacques a secret, and they also agreed to drop Mia off at his apartment for a couple of hours that night while they went off to go do something else for a while. So for two short but special hours that night, for the first time in _ages_ , Mia Thermopolis was _truly_ out on her own _without_ any guards nearby. She had put on a long blonde wig and big sunglasses, and after Sam, Jonathan, and Jason dropped her off at Jacques's apartment building, she was able to walk upstairs to the second floor where his apartment was, and she even managed to walk past two other tenants living there without being recognized.

And now, here she was tonight, chopping up vegetables in Jacques's kitchen, feeling happier and more carefree than she'd felt in a long time.

"You're doing a beautiful job, my darling," he told her in his low, smooth, sexy French voice.

"Thank you," Mia responded with a big smile. A moment later, they were both done with all the chopping, and Jacques finished preparing their salad. And while he continued to work on their food, Mia told him, "You know, even though I am a grown woman now and even a queen, I practically feel like a teenage kid, staying out late on a date after curfew. I almost feel like I'm doing something bad in a way."

Jacques had been tossing up their salad together in a big bowl, and the moment she finished saying that, he put his utensils down and walked up to her and gave her a long, _great_ kiss. Then he said to her in his French accent, "Don't feel that way, my love. You like me. You are interested in me. And I like you just as much, and am equally interested in getting to know you. You work so hard every day of your life to take care of Genovia as its Queen. You've been through so much with your recent battle with cancer. You have _more_ than earned the right to have some time for yourself, away from your role, your duties, the palace, the guards. You are not doing _anything_ wrong at all. There is _nothing_ wrong with you taking some time for yourself."

Mia smiled once again, and Jacques gave her another long kiss, which she _definitely_ enjoyed. Then she said, "I know you're right. It's just that I know my grandparents would not approve of me being here with you tonight, all on my own without any guards, and–"

" _I'll_ be your guard," Jacques said, and then he kissed her a third time. "Forget about your worries. Forget about your grandparents. It's not their lives; it's ours. This is _our_ time together. Let's just think about us."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, my dear Mia. You are a _very_ kind, loving, sensitive young lady who cares deeply for her family. That's one of the things about you I like the most."

" _I just love it_ the way you do that."

"Do what?"

"Call me 'your dear Mia.' You call me _Mia_. Not Miss Mia. Not Your Majesty. You just call me by my name. With you, I don't have to worry about being a queen; I'm free to just be a person, like everybody else. You don't bow and scrape and trip over yourself when I walk into a room. _You'll never know_ how good it feels to be able to forget about everything for a little while and _just be a woman._ "

"I can imagine your role as Queen can be quite difficult."

"Yes, it really can be sometimes."

"Well," he said as they started carrying the different dishes of food over to the small square glass table with black chairs in the nearby dining area, "from now on, I will always consider it my most important job as your boyfriend to help you forget all the pressures of your royal duties and to treat you like a woman and not like a royal title."

" _Thank you!_ " Mia said aloud, and then they sat down and started eating.

During the first of their two hours together, after Mia helped him make dinner, they talked and joked and had a very good time. Mia told him more about herself and her life and vice versa. Jacques told her all about growing up helping to run his family's vineyard in France, which his younger brother Luc was now in charge of. He also talked a little bit about his previous marriage to his ex-wife Suzette. They also talked about their shared love of cats and what was going on with Fat Louie, Amber, and Jacques's cat Luc that he'd named after his brother. The more time Mia spent with him, the more she found that she really, really liked him. That evening, he'd proven himself to be every bit as funny, romantic, and charming in person as he had been over the phone and computer in all their phone calls, texts, and e-mails. And thankfully, this time around, Jacques proved himself to be _much_ more of gentleman than he was the day they first met. He'd already apologized to Mia for his previous behavior in his phone calls, texts, and e-mails, but tonight, he also took the opportunity to apologize to Mia once again in person, which really touched her. And even though _Joseph_ certainly wouldn't have agreed with Mia, she was more than willing to overlook his previous behavior and give him another chance.

During their second hour together, Jacques really stepped up the romance. He'd already brought out candles and lit them and dimmed the lights so they could have a nice candlelit dinner together, and once they were finished eating, he kept all the lights in his apartment dimmed and he put on some soft romantic jazz music. He and Mia danced to the music together for the longest time, and they continued talking and getting to know each other. Jacques had full-length windows covering the back wall of his studio apartment, which had a black sofa bed and matching chairs, and a glass coffee table and matching end tables that went with the glass dining table and black chairs in the dining area. And as Mia danced with Jacques and stared outside the full-length windows overlooking the lights of the city of Pyrus, she was filled with _such_ an exhilaration. _For once_ , she wasn't stuck behind the palace gates, and she _wasn't_ being guarded. _She was on her own with her new, hot boyfriend!_ She was by herself. _By herself!_ On her own, doing her _own_ thing in her new boyfriend's apartment, _without_ Joseph or Shades or any other guards or any other _people, period_ , to answer to. It was an _amazing_ feeling!

While they were dancing, Jacques couldn't help but notice the look of near _wonder_ on Mia's face, and he laughed. "What is it? You look so excited," he said.

"I can't help it, Jacques. This is the first time in I don't know how long that I've actually been somewhere _without_ my guards nearby. It is _such_ an incredible feeling to be on my own like this!"

Jacques smiled and said, "You are a very endearing girl, my darling Mia." Then yet again, he gave her another _amazing_ kiss.

Shortly after that, Mia's guards returned and sent her a text letting her know they were downstairs in the lobby and that it was time for them to take her back to the palace. With a disappointed sigh, she put her wig and sunglasses back on and she gave Jacques a goodnight kiss and left.

Thankfully, Jonathan, Sam, and Jason managed to get Mia back to the palace without incident. Clarisse and Joseph had been upstairs in their suite, trying to get as much rest as they could before the baby arrived, obviously, and everybody else had been off doing their own thing. Lionel, who was also on the night shift now, had known that the Queen had gone out somewhere with Jonathan, Sam, and Jason for a couple of hours, as well as couple of other guards on the night shift, but none of them said anything or asked any questions. They all just figured the Queen wanted to get out of the palace for a little bit and perhaps go for a drive or something, and they didn't blame her for wanting to get away for a while, so Mia's secret remained safe for the time being.

The next morning, Mia was actually in such a good mood because of her great date with Jacques the night before that she didn't even mind starting in on all her paperwork when she came into her office. However, unfortunately for Joseph, he would _not_ be in as good a mood as his granddaughter was that day.

Just as Joseph had been driving Clarisse crazy over the past week while he anxiously waited for her false labor pains to become real ones, _she_ was also driving _him_ just as crazy with nesting. Joseph remembered Dr. Hart's instructions to him to be as understanding and supportive as possible and to let her do as much nesting as she felt she needed to do, as long as she didn't tire herself out. And he didn't utter a word of complaint as she had him help her reorganize Isaac's nursery and closet again and again and again and again _and again_ over the course of that week. It was now early June, and Clarisse was a little less than one week away from her due date, and it really was driving _everyone_ crazy and Joseph most of all, but even though he felt he was losing his mind inside and Clarisse's constant nesting did _not_ help, he still tried very hard to remain as calm as possible for her sake. He _still_ drove her crazy with all his record-keeping of her false labor pains and with all his constant questions practically every ten seconds about how she and the baby were doing, but for a first-time dad, he was actually handling the overall situation quite well. However, the anticipation of the birth of his first child plus all the nesting with Clarisse really was beginning to take its toll on him that day. But what happened shortly after Mia came into her office and started her paperwork that morning only added fuel to the fire. Little did Joseph know that things were about to get _a lot_ worse.

Joseph was spending some time with the boys in the security hub, and they got to talking about how Mia had recently saved his life with the Heimlich maneuver when unbeknownst to any of them, Clarisse came along and was actually standing right outside the room listening to their conversation. Ordinarily, she would never eavesdrop, of course, but when she first heard them talking about Joseph choking, naturally, she couldn't help but want to listen and find out what it was exactly that they were all talking about, so she continued to listen.

"You know boss, that really was something the way Queen Mia saved your life last week," said Kevin, who was a tall, muscular man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Yes, you're right. It was. I don't know what I'd do without my granddaughter."

"Who would've guessed that you of all people would've ended up having a brush with death, right here in the security hub?" asked David, who was black and was a little shorter than Kevin.

"I know," Joseph agreed. "It was certainly unexpected for me to suddenly start choking on a couple of peanuts."

"And I had no idea the Queen actually knew how to perform the Heimlich maneuver," Kevin added. "It was really amazing the way she just stepped in and saved your life like that."

"Yes, it was," said Joseph.

"Are you still keeping what happened a secret from Queen Clarisse?" asked David.

"Of course. I will not have her getting all worried and upset. Not in her condition."

"Right on, boss," said Kevin. "As the men in our families, it's our job to look out for our ladies."

"That's right," David chimed in. "It's our job to look out for our wives and make all the big decisions like this. Women are more fragile, after all. They can't handle these things as well as us men can."

"Well hold on, now," Joseph said doubtfully. "I do agree that because I'm the man, it's my job to look out for Clarisse and the baby. That's why I decided not to tell her about what happened to me here in the hub last week. However, I don't agree that just because I'm the man, that means that I make _all_ the decisions in our marriage."

"No, boss, not at all," said Kevin. "It's just our job to make all the big, tough, important decisions that our wives can't handle. It's all a part of being the man of the household; the head of the family."

"Yeah, well, I guess you _are_ right about that, to a certain extent," Joseph said, allowing his own macho side to get the best of him for a brief moment. "Women are more delicate than men and sometimes we do have to step in and make the tough decisions that they can't. That's why it's our job to take charge and look out for them in our marriages and in our families."

In that moment, Clarisse really was shocked. She couldn't _believe_ what she was hearing! _She couldn't believe_ that that was actually Joseph, _her Joseph_ , standing around inside the security hub with Kevin and David, saying that he thought that as a man, he had to step in and make "the tough decisions" that she wasn't capable of making in their marriage because she was a "more delicate" woman! _More delicate, her eye!_ Clarisse had spent _an entire_ _lifetime_ making tough decisions as the Queen of Genovia! _How dare Joseph_ make such a chauvinistic, sexist assumption that she was incapable of making tough decisions in their marriage just because she was a woman?! Joseph, Kevin, and David were practically talking about their wives as though they were helpless, incompetent little children, just because they were women. To say the least, that _really_ burned Clarisse up!

Clarisse walked into the security hub then and said to them, her voice _dripping_ with sarcasm, "Yes, Joseph, as well all know, I _really_ need _you_ to make all the tough decisions in my life and in our marriage for me. We all know that I don't have _any_ experience making hard, important decisions at all. My many years being a queen and ruling a country don't mean anything."

Joseph hadn't really meant what he'd just been saying to the guys a minute ago, of course. As her husband and as her best friend of _so_ many years, he had _nothing_ but the deepest respect for Clarisse, and in their marriage, he wholeheartedly respected her as an _equal_ partner. And for the record, David and Kevin felt the same way about their wives. It was just simply a dumb macho moment amongst guys where they all like to fool each other into believing that they're the boss and that they're the ones running the show.

And the moment Clarisse walked in and said what she did, Joseph's embarrassed face turned beet red, and the only thing he could do in that instant was bury his face in his hands. He couldn't even _bear_ to look at Clarisse. _He knew_ in those moments that Clarisse was about to let him have it with both barrels, and _deservedly_ so.

"I must say, Joseph, that I'm really shocked by everything I just heard. More than shocked, as a matter of fact. I think _appalled_ is a better word. Here we are in the twenty-first century, and yet, there's still so much sexism in the world and in our faith. Pierre has told me many horror stories of some churches and clergymen out there who have twisted Bible verses to try and turn women into second-class citizens in their own marriages and in their own homes. There are a lot of men out there in the world who look down on women; who see us as being less than they are, _but I never, ever in a million years_ dreamed that I would even _once_ encounter that kind of attitude from you.

"So, you gentlemen think women are weak, or to use Joseph's term, 'more delicate'? Tell me. How many times have _any of you_ had to pass an eight-pound baby through your groin? And Joseph, tell me: how many countries have _you_ ever had to run? How many decisions have _you_ ever had to make in your life that effected _entire nations?_ " After Clarisse said that, Joseph continued to hide his face behind his hands, unable to utter a syllable because _he knew_ how right she was.

"And while we're on the subject," Clarisse continued, "there's another thing I overheard in your conversation with Kevin and David that I find appalling as well, and that's _your hypocrisy._ Last week, you had _the nerve_ and _the gall_ to lecture me about how you wanted there to be more marital honesty between us. You _dared_ to get on my case for not telling you about my false labor pains _when you had a brush with death and didn't say a word to me about it!_ It seems you only wanted the kind of marital honesty that runs in one direction, and that isn't right, and there _will_ be repercussions for it.

"Since you think I'm so delicate, I have just decided in this very moment that I am too delicate to do the kind of reorganizing of the palace that I have wanted to do for some time now. I know how much you've hated helping me organize Isaac's nursery and closet in our suite, so I decided in the beginning that I wasn't going to try to deal with the rest of the palace. _Now, however,_ I think I'm going to be your typical unpredictable pregnant woman and change my mind, and I am not going to lift _one finger_ to do of any of the work. _You_ are going to do _everything._ You're going to reorganize the kitchen, Mia's office, _all_ of the other offices in the palace, and _all_ of the big closets where Mrs. Kout and all the maids keep their cleaning supplies, and you're going to do it to _my_ specifications. Come along."

Knowing that there was _no_ way he could get out of it now, Joseph simply responded, "Yes, ma'am," and followed his wife out of the security hub.

Just before Clarisse left with Joseph though, she turned around and told Kevin and David, "And as for _you two_ , I want this security hub cleaned and dusted properly and I want it done _now._ It looks like the maids haven't been in here in weeks! I want everything dusted and I want the floor swept and mopped and when the two of you are done, I want this place to _sparkle._ Is that clear, gentlemen?"

Like Joseph, knowing that they'd literally backed themselves into a corner it was _impossible_ for them to get out of, David and Kevin looked Queen Clarisse in the eye and simply answered, "Yes, ma'am," and got to work the instant Clarisse left with Joseph.


	23. Jia

**Chapter 23: Jia**

For the next several days leading up to Clarisse's due date, Joseph worked very, _very_ hard to get out of the doghouse with her for his insensitive, rather sexist comments he'd made while talking to a couple of other guys in the security hub, and it took him a little bit of time, but he eventually succeeded. Clarisse really had been offended at what he'd said, and she'd _certainly_ been upset at him for keeping the choking incident from her as well, but she also knew that everybody had dumb moments in their lives where they said stupid things they didn't really mean, and she knew, too, that Joseph really did love and respect her with all his heart. So after a few days of Joseph's endless nesting through the entire palace – to _Clarisse's_ specifications – and him giving her countless feet rubs and back rubs and cooking several of her favorite dishes for her, things went back to normal between the newlywed couple as they continued anxiously waiting for Isaac to come.

And also during that time, Mia went on two more secret dates with Jacques, having dinner with him in his apartment. It was just a tiny slice of freedom – a date lasting two mere hours in which Mia could be on her own without her guards nearby, but to her, it was a real gift. It was the chance to actually feel like a _normal_ person again for _once_ in her life.

However, unfortunately for Mia, it didn't last too much longer. As would be expected, it didn't take long for Joseph to catch wind of the fact that his granddaughter had been disappearing from the palace at night with the three youngest guys on the night shift and that nobody other than the four of them had a clue where they were going. Naturally, Joseph _did_ hate to pry, and he certainly wanted to give Mia as much privacy as he possibly could since she got _so_ little as Queen anyway, but at the same time, the protective bodyguard in him didn't like the idea of the Queen being out at night with their most inexperienced guards and not her Royal Head of Security. He knew he had to get to the bottom of it and find out exactly _what_ was going on.

And when Joseph did look her in the eye and ask her about it point blank the day before Clarisse's due date, Mia knew that honesty was _always_ the best policy with Joseph, so she didn't beat around the bush.

"If you _must_ know, Grandpa," she told him as they stood together in her office that morning, "I've been seeing someone. I met a young man I really liked a few weeks ago, and since then, he and I have kept in touch with each other through calls and texts and e-mails. And here lately, I've been going to his apartment some nights for a couple of hours to have dinner with him." Unfortunately for Mia, Brigitte, Brigitta, and Mrs. Kout were standing around in the background and although she and Joseph were speaking in what Clarisse called hushed tones, they still heard everything.

"Is it Jacques?" Joseph asked.

Mia let out a small sigh and answered, "Yes. It's Jacques. I just didn't tell you and Grandma about it because I didn't want to upset you. I know that after what happened when he was last here, you guys don't exactly approve of him."

"You're right. We don't, and for good reason," Joseph told her, still in a quiet voice since the maids were hanging around in the room. "He was hitting on you when he was here last. He was terribly disrespectful to you, and I don't trust him."

Mia sighed again and said, "I knew you would say that. But you should know that ever since then, he has apologized profusely for that incident, and every single time we've been together, he has been nothing but a perfect gentleman. And, with all due respect to you and Grandma, I am a grown woman now and who I decide to date is _my_ decision and no one else's."

"I am aware of that. But I _do not_ want you going to Jacques's apartment or _anywhere_ out at night without your Royal Head of Security with you. Take Shades with you from now on when you go to see him."

"Again, Grandpa, with all due respect, I think that, too, is _my_ decision and not yours," she protested, knowing that if she took Shades, he wouldn't be willing to leave her on her own with Jacques like Jonathan, Jason, and Sam always did.

This time, it was Joseph's turn to sigh, and he did. Finally, he said, "We'll talk about this later," and left.

Later on that evening, the palace grapevine proved to be as active as ever as Mrs. Kout, Brigitte, Brigitta, and Shades stood around in the kitchen discussing the situation.

"It took us a little bit of time, but Joseph and I eventually pried the truth out of Sam, Jason, and Jonathan. As it turns out, Queen Mia has actually been _on her own_ with this Jacques fellow at night while they left her – _on her orders._ "

"Why on earth would the Queen do something so crazy as going out on her own without her Royal Head of Security – _at night of all times?_ " asked Mrs. Kout.

"She probably just wants a little freedom, Mrs. Kout," said Brigitte. "A little independence."

"I imagine it is pretty stifling living a life where you have to have guards follow you everywhere you go," Brigitta added.

"Yes, but it's terribly unsafe for Her Majesty to be alone at night with this…this… _Jacques_. And I heard all about how he actually _put his hand on the Queen's hip_ when he was here last. I mean no disrespect to our Queen, but I think choosing to be in a relationship with someone like that is bad judgment. I just hope she doesn't get hurt. She's such a darling girl and she's already been through _so_ much in her life. Too much," Mrs. Kout observed.

"Indeed," Shades agreed. "That's why I've got Lionel doing a background check on Jacques now. If Her Majesty is going to get involved with him, I want to know everything about him there is to know."

"Well, let's see," Mia's voice interrupted the discussion. To say the least, everyone was really embarrassed when she walked in. As it turned out, she had been standing right outside the entire time and had overheard their discussion about her. "His family owns a vineyard in France. He's a fitness fanatic. He's an animal lover and he has a cat. He likes to paint and he's very artistic. He likes fine wine. He likes jazz music. And he's a terrific dancer. Anything else about _my_ boyfriend and _my_ personal life you guys would like to know?" Mia asked them with her arms folded across her chest, clearly very, _very_ irritated with all of them.

Being the Royal Head of Security and the leader that he was, Shades instantly spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. _I'm_ the one who started this discussion and I shouldn't have. I apologize."

Mia knew the gracious thing and the proper queenly thing for her to do in that moment would be for her to accept his apology and be forgiving, but she didn't because she was too mad. She knew that was probably what her perfectly classy grandmother would do. But Mia was not Clarisse, and in that moment, she couldn't help but give in to the desire to say to all of them what she was _really_ thinking.

"Guys, how would _all of you_ like it if I went around gossiping about all of _your_ personal business? I realize that as Queen of Genovia, people are always going to be curious about me and my life. I agreed years ago to eventually be crowned Queen and I knew that choice would mean that my life would never completely be my own. I realize it that in many ways, I belong to my country and my people much more than I do to myself. However, there are _some_ parts of my life that need to stay _mine_ ; that need to belong to _me_ and to no one else. There are some matters in my life that I need to remain _private._ Now can all of you understand that?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," Shades answered. "Again, we are all extremely sorry."

"Yes, we are terribly sorry, ma'am," said Mrs. Kout. "You're right. We all were out of line."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," said Brigitte.

"I'm sorry, too, Your Majesty. You're right. We were wrong to gossip about you like that," Brigitta agreed.

Mia could see it then that they really felt bad about all their nosiness, so she couldn't stay angry at them any longer. "It's alright, guys," she told them then. "It's no big deal. Just…please be respectful of the fact that my personal life is exactly that: _personal_. Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," they all said in unison.

"Thank you. And Shades?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Tell Lionel to cancel the background check. I wouldn't be dating Jacques if I didn't trust him."

"Your Majesty, perhaps it would be better if you and I discussed the matter in private."

"There's nothing to discuss. There will be no background checks and that's final," Mia told Shades, and then she turned around and left the kitchen.

The next morning, things were still tense amongst some of the palace staff because of the way Mia scolded them for their gossiping the night before, and that was in addition to all the tension that everyone was already feeling as they were anxiously waiting for Clarisse to go into labor. However, the tension in the palace increased yet again that morning when Elsie Kentworthy broke the story of Mia's new relationship with Jacques on her show.

Evidently, a nosy tenant in a nearby apartment building ended up watching Jacques's apartment through his binoculars, and of course, when he'd seen Jacques dancing with the Queen during one of their dates together, he just _had_ to capture it on video with his cell phone and send it to Elsie Kentworthy, who just _delighted_ in showing it on her morning talk show, _Eggs with Elsie_. Naturally, she put the most derogatory spin on things that she _possibly_ could. Unfortunately, like Nicholas, Jacques also had a past as a real ladies' man, and Elsie didn't hesitate to go into as many painful details about it as possible. She also made it sound as though it was inevitable that Jacques would eventually cheat on Mia, and as though Mia were basically the dumbest person on earth for choosing to date him. In her broadcast, she started calling the couple "Jia," and she let all of Genovia know that she was certain that "Jia" would inevitably crash and burn, which _really_ burned Mia inside.

Shortly after the show, Mia called Jacques and let her know how sorry she was about it all, but he was very understanding about it and he did let Mia know that he didn't blame her for what was happening, which did make her feel a little better. However, she still remained pretty tense throughout the rest of the day because of everything else that was going on. And someone else who was pretty tense about the announcement in the worldwide media about the new couple, "Jia," was Andrew.

His adopted father had a big dinner party planned that night and even though he wanted to, Andrew hadn't been able to get out of it. And on top of that, he rarely saw his parents as it was and he knew it was probably only fair that he make at least a _little_ effort to see them and spend some time with them every once in a while, despite the fact that they weren't very close. And while he was as kind, gracious, and charming as he could possibly be towards his parents as he visited with them that day before the dinner party, inside, he really was boiling over Jia. He knew he had _no right_ to be jealous, though, because over about the past year that he and Mia had known each other, she really had been a wonderful friend to him. _And_ , it really was _his fault_ that Mia had pursued a relationship with another guy instead of with him because _he_ was the one who just went back to his duties in the Royal Air Force without saying one word to Mia about his true feelings for her. There was no way Mia could have known that Andrew was really in love with her now, of course.

And now, it was too late, and that was a painful realization for Andrew. Now, as he stood alone in his bedroom of his father's mansion, he just couldn't stop kicking himself for being so _stupid_ and letting Mia get away.

After pinning one of the _tons_ of pictures of Jacques to the bedroom wall that had been in all the newspapers and magazines and other media that day, Andrew looked up and said, "Lord Jesus, forgive me. I know we're supposed to love our enemies and pray for them, but I've just _got_ to get this out of my system first."

In that moment, Andrew picked up some darts and started throwing them at Jacques's picture.

In the meantime, back at the palace, the tension still continued to rise as Clarisse, Joseph, Mia, and everybody else anxiously waited for the due date to arrive – and _hoped_ against hope that this baby _would not_ be overdue.

And sure enough, on that day, it seemed that everyone _would_ be getting their wish. Clarisse's labor had begun very suddenly, in fact, and before she, Joseph, and Mia even knew it, the three of them were in one of the royal limousines, Clarisse sitting in the front passenger's seat next to Joseph with Mia in the backseat, _racing_ to the hospital.

"Hang in there, Grandma," Mia told her. "We'll get you there soon."

Even though Joseph had a lifetime of experience as a bodyguard and well knew how to keep cool under pressure, he was still a first-time dad and as such, was really scared to death as he kept a heavy foot on the accelerator. He tried to pretend to be calm, but inside, he was swearing in Spanish, French, and Italian!

A moment later, he heard the tiniest grunt, and he couldn't figure out _what_ was going on. "What was that?" he asked.

"What was what, Grandpa?" asked Mia.

"I heard something," Joseph said, and then he heard that same sound again. "There it is again. It almost sounded like someone grunting."

"If you two _must_ know, it was me," Clarisse told them. "I was pushing."

Joseph then _immediately_ lost all pretense of calmness as he cried out, " _Pushing?!_ "

"Grandma, no! You can't push! Not until we get to the hospital!"

"I can't help it. My body is simply _demanding_ it of me that I push as hard as I can now, so my body and I are compromising. I'm only pushing _lightly_ until we get to the hospital."

"Oh, Lord!" Mia gasped.

 _Pushing lightly!_ Joseph said to himself as he pressed down even harder on the gas. _Oh, dear God above, help us! She's pushing lightly!_

A moment later, Joseph and Mia heard Clarisse push again, and in that instant, Joseph started mentally swearing in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Swahili!

It was in that second that Joseph suddenly sat straight up in bed. When he sat up, Clarisse turned her light on and sat up too.

"What is it, Joseph?" she asked him. "What's the matter?"

"You were in labor," Joseph answered. "You, Mia, and I were on our way to the hospital, and you were pushing as I was driving you there because you couldn't wait."

"Calm down, love. You just had a dream. That's all."

"Lord Jesus, help me, please! I don't think I can take this anymore."

Clarisse laughed out loud then and said, "Joseph, I'm over sixty, and yet for some reason, God has decided to allow me to miraculously get pregnant at my age." She looked at the clock then, which read 12:01 A.M., and then she told Joseph, "And on top of being over sixty _and pregnant_ , according to our clock, here, I am now officially one day overdue…and you want the Lord Jesus to help _you?!_ "

" _Yes!_ I am going out of my mind!" he insisted.

Clarisse then rolled her eyes at her husband and said, " _Men!_ Go to sleep, Joseph."

A couple of seconds later, she turned her light out again and they both laid back down, knowing that the next few nights and days were probably going to be long and hard.


	24. Getting Close

**Chapter 24: Getting Close**

It was half past five, and Joseph had prepared an early, very romantic candlelight dinner for Clarisse and himself in their suite upstairs. Clarisse was now two days overdue, and Joseph knew that this would be one of the last chances they would get to enjoy a "date" together before Isaac finally came. Joseph prepared a delicious, beautiful dinner for them – and naturally, a banana split for dessert – and he made certain to have some nice romantic music playing in the background as well.

But while Clarisse did seem to really enjoy everything, Joseph noticed that she also seemed rather distant and preoccupied. "Are you alright, my dear?" he asked her at their table for two once they were finished eating.

"Hmm?" Clarisse responded, obviously not hearing the question.

"I asked you if you were alright. You seem to have a lot on your mind."

"Oh, yes. Yes, I'm fine, darling," she told him, but then she got that same distant, faraway look on her face again.

"Clarisse, I know you," Joseph told her. "I can tell when something's bothering you or when you've got a lot on your mind. Talk to me, sweetheart," he said as he reached across the small table in the living area of their suite and took her hand in his. "What's going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said dismissively with a wave of her other hand. "You've heard of pre-wedding jitters, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, let's just say that I've come down with a case of pre-baby jitters."

"Are you scared of the delivery? The pain?"

"Oh, no. I mean, I'm certainly not _looking forward_ to all the pain I know I'm going to experience, but I'll get through it. I've done it before. I'm more worried about what comes _after_ the birth."

Confused, Joseph asked, "What _does_ come after the birth? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about bringing our baby home from the hospital and actually _raising_ him."

"Well that's not so scary, Clarisse. You've done it twice before already. And, you'll have me right there by your side. You won't be raising Isaac alone, you know."

"I know; I know. But I'm still worried. I mean, maybe I have done this before, but it's been _ages_ , and besides, I was _young_ then. Now, I'm actually a grandmother! I'm not as young as I used to be, Joseph. I don't have the energy I used to have. God has given us both such an _extraordinary_ gift, and I know better than anyone that with a great gift comes _great_ responsibility. Here lately I can't help but ask myself, 'Can I do this at my age? Do I have what it takes? Am I up to a challenge like this?' And I keep feeling afraid that maybe the answer to those questions is, 'No.'"

In that moment, Joseph actually started laughing, which really made Clarisse feel hurt and angry. Here she was, opening up to him, sharing her deepest fears with him, and _Joseph reacts with laughter?_ How insensitive could he be?! Clarisse then angrily withdrew her hand from his, got up from the table, and stomped off into their bedchamber.

"Clarisse," Joseph called after her as he got up from his seat and followed her in there. "Clarisse, wait. Wait a minute, sweetheart."

Throughout the pregnancy, Clarisse had maintained incredible control over her emotions despite all the pregnancy hormone fluctuations she had to endure, but tonight, it all got the better of her and she started to cry. "I really am glad my worries and fears are so entertaining and humorous for you, Joseph!" she snapped.

"Clarisse," he said warmly, and then he pulled her into his embrace, even though the _last_ thing she wanted to do right now was to hug him. "My love, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I did _not_ mean to hurt your feelings just now. I just laughed because the thought of _you_ of all people not having what it takes and not being up to a challenge is, quite frankly, the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Clarisse, you are a _remarkably_ strong, special woman. You've already done _such_ incredible things. You ruled our country for so many years – all the while you were putting up with Rupert," Joseph teased, which got a small laugh out of Clarisse. "And then you ruled our country all by yourself, even _after_ going through the indescribable _agony_ of losing a child. Most people would totally break if they were put under that kind of stress and pressure, but you handled it _amazingly_ well. Raising a child after age sixty, for someone as incredible as _you_ , will be a breeze!"

Clarisse looked up at Joseph then and asked, "Do you really think so?"

" _I know so,_ " Joseph whispered, and in that next moment, he gave her a big, long, _incredible_ kiss. When it was over, he said, "Darling, Jesus knew _exactly_ what He was doing when He picked you to be this child's mother. You're the perfect person for the job. I'm certain of it." He then started gently wiping away her tears with his thumbs, and after that, he just put his arms around her again and held for a good, long time. "Don't be afraid," he whispered. "Everything's going to be alright. Everything's going to be just fine."

After Clarisse really started to feel better a few seconds later, she looked into Joseph's eyes and told him, "Thank you, Joseph. I think I needed to hear that a lot more than I realized."

"That's what husbands are for."

This time, it was _Clarisse_ who gave _Joseph_ a big, long, incredible kiss. Then immediately after it was over, Clarisse said, "Oh, dear. Excuse me, Joseph."

"Is something the matter?"

"Oh, no. I just still have the bladder of a pregnant woman. _A very_ pregnant woman. That's all," she explained as she walked off into their bathroom.

A few minutes later, Clarisse tried in vain to open the bathroom door. The door to their bathroom was made of solid oak. It was very heavy, and also very old, and for the past couple of months or so, Clarisse and Joseph had had trouble with it getting stuck from time to time, and they'd each ended up trapped in the bathroom more than once and had had to call out to be rescued. They had been meaning to talk to someone on the palace staff about it for ages now, but they just never got around to it.

Clarisse knocked on the bathroom door then and called out, "Joseph! Joseph, can you get me out of here, please? The door's stuck!"

"Coming, sweetheart," Joseph answered, and then he walked over to the bathroom door. "Clarisse, stand back. I'm going to try to knock the door open from this side," he told her.

"Alright," Clarisse responded, and then she stood back like Joseph told her to. Joseph had to give it a couple of hard bumps, but within a couple of moments, he managed to nudge it open and Clarisse was able to come out.

When Clarisse emerged from the bathroom, Joseph asked, "Are you alright, dear?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine. But we've got to remember to speak to somebody about that door."

"Yeah, you're right. We do. We've got to stop putting it off," Joseph agreed. "I'll speak to somebody soon."

"Very well, dear," said Clarisse, and then they picked up and moved on with their romantic evening together. They danced for the longest time, and then they talked until they were both finally ready to turn in for the night.

The next morning, Joseph ended up talking once again for a long time, this time with Shades in the security hub.

"To be perfectly honest with you, boss, I just don't know what to do. I mean, we're in uncharted territory, here. Besides Queen Mia, there have only been two crown princesses in Genovia's history who went on to become queens, and they were both married long before they took the throne. And every other Queen of Genovia became the Queen only after marrying the King of Genovia. We've never had a single Queen before, so obviously, Royal Security has never had to deal with the issue of the Queen dating or having a boyfriend. The Queen has made her feelings about the background check crystal clear, but I personally would feel a lot better if I had Lionel go through with it anyway. If this young man is going to be getting involved in the Queen's life, I want to make certain he's somebody we can trust, and frankly, _I don't_ trust this Jacques Beaumont at all."

"Believe me, Shades, the feelings are mutual. I wouldn't trust that creep if he told me rain was wet. Listen, I know how the Queen feels about this, but have Lionel do the background check anyway. Clarisse and I will talk to Mia."

"Thank you, Joseph."

"Don't mention it," Joseph said, and then he left the security hub and Shades had Lionel get to work.

Later on that morning, after Clarisse convinced Joseph to change his mind and let her talk to Mia alone, Mia was able to free up some time in her schedule, so she left her office and met her grandmother upstairs in her suite.

"So, Grandma, what's this big thing you wanted to talk to me about today?" Mia asked her after they had sat down on the couch beside each other.

"I wanted to talk to you about what's been happening in your life lately with this Jacques Beaumont."

Mia sighed then and said, "I might have guessed. Am I in a whole bunch of trouble with you because I went out to see him a couple of times? Or because of the way I sort of let Shades, Mrs. Kout, Brigitte, and Brigitta have it in the kitchen the other day for gossiping about me?"

"No, no, darling. Not at all. I'm not angry with you. I heard about your little confrontation in the kitchen with some of the staff, and to be honest, when I learned the whole story, I was very proud of you for the way you handled it."

"Really?" said Mia. She was very surprised to hear her grandmother say that.

Clarisse smiled and said, "Absolutely."

"You mean you're not disappointed in me because I didn't handle the whole thing as politely as you would have?"

"Not at all. I know how I like to wear my Polite Queen Mask all the time, but there does come a time when you also have to stand up for yourself and establish boundaries with the people who work under you. You weren't in the wrong that evening; _they were_ , and they realize that. But sweetheart, what _you_ need to realize is that even though they were wrong to talk about you behind your back like they did, people only talk about you because they care; because they don't want to see you get hurt."

"Oh, dear," Mia sighed. "I knew this was coming. Let me guess: you don't like Jacques and like everybody else around me, you are just _absolutely certain_ that I'm making a great big, dumb mistake by seeing him."

"What _I_ think doesn't matter. This is about what _you_ think. However, you are right. Personally, I _don't_ like Jacques because of the _terrible_ way he behaved with you when he was in the palace last. I don't trust him. There are a lot of fine young men in the world who, if they got to know you, would love you for _you_ and not your title. But I'm not convinced that Jacques is one of them. It worries me that he might be using you for his own selfish purposes. But, it's not my life; it's yours. You're the one who has to be happy.

" _And_ , you're the one who also has to be _safe._ " Mia got frustrated then, _really_ expecting a lecture from Clarisse, and she let out another sigh. Clarisse put her hand on Mia's shoulder in that moment and told her, "Believe me, darling, _no one_ understands the frustrations of royal life and royal duty better than _I_ do. I haven't been able to go _anywhere_ or do _anything_ on my own since I was eighteen years-old. _I do understand_ how _incredibly_ frustrating it is to never be able to come and go as you please like everybody else. I understand _completely_ how it feels to _yearn_ for a taste of pure freedom and independence that you just can't have. I know that quite often, this palace _can_ feel like it's nothing more than a fancy, luxurious prison.

"But those guards and security measures are there for a reason. There are a lot of crazy, dangerous people out there who really would hurt you simply because you're a royal. Joseph and Shades _are not_ trying to rob you of your freedom. They're simply trying to make sure that you're always _safe._ I know how hard it is, but you simply _cannot_ be in his apartment without guards nearby. _You have_ to take Shades with you."

"I know, Grandma. I know," Mia said quietly, and of course, even though she hated it, she _did_ know that Clarisse was right.

"And I want you to let Shades proceed with the background check," Clarisse added.

"What? Oh Grandma, not you, too!"

"Just hear me out. Like I said, there are a lot of crazy people out there who would do something to hurt you, and there are also a lot of men out there who would use you; who would only date you for your title and your wealth. You have been through _so much_ this year already. I know how hard it's been making the transition from a princess to a queen. I know you've had a great weight thrust on your shoulders in some very difficult, unfair circumstances. And on top of all that, you've recently had a battle with cancer. Joseph and I, and _all_ the people around you here, we…we all love you, Mia. You are _such_ a treasure to _all_ of us, and after everything you've been through, we can't help but feel very protective of you. And if you're going to be going out and seeing someone, we all want to make sure that it's someone we can _trust_ ; someone we know will look out for you and _not_ do anything to hurt you."

"And you think letting Shades and Lionel do the background check of Jacques will put all your minds at ease?"

"Yes, I do. If you're going to pursue a romantic relationship with someone, I want to know as much about him as possible. I want to be certain that he's someone who's trustworthy. It would mean a lot to me."

"Okay," Mia sighed once again. "I'll tell Shades to go ahead with the background check if it means that much to you and Grandpa."

"Thank you."

"But he's not going to find anything."

"Well for your sake, I hope he doesn't."

Mia looked at her watch then and said, "I'm sorry, Grandma, but I really have to go now. I'm having tea with Charlotte and Lady Martin at eleven to discuss some issues in Parliament."

"Very well, my dear. I'll see you later."

Mia gave Clarisse a quick side hug then and said, "See you, Grandma."

After Mia left, the rest of the day remained rather uneventful, except for one detail that Clarisse told Joseph about later that evening.

"Joseph, I need to tell you something," she said to him in their bedchamber. Clarisse had been able to get a good deal of sleep that day during her daily naps, and she had just woken up a couple of moments ago that evening when Joseph walked in to check on her.

Clarisse sat up in bed then and Joseph walked around to her side of the bed and sat down next to her. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked.

"We're getting close."

"Getting close? What do you mean?"

"A couple of days before Pierre was born, I got this strange feeling. It's really indescribable. All I can tell you is that for two days before I gave birth to Pierre, I simply felt strange. I did not feel like my normal self. And the same thing happened to me the day before I had Philippe. Again, I got that same indescribable, strange sort of feeling. And it's happening now. I'm getting that feeling all over again."

"You're not in any pain, are you? You're not uncomfortable?"

"No, no," she assured him. "I'm not uncomfortable. I just feel… _off._ I don't feel like myself."

Joseph took both of her hands in his then and said, "Just tell me what to do. Tell me how to help you now."

Clarisse smiled and let go of one of his hands and held the side of Joseph's face with it, and then she said, "You're so sweet, Joseph. But there's really nothing you can do. Just be with me now; with both of us. That's all Isaac and I really need. Well, that and _a lot_ of rest. I really need to start gathering my strength now. I'm going to need it all very soon."

"Of course. Of course. I'll tell Mrs. Kout not to let any of the maids come in here for the next couple of days or so. I think it would be better if you and I just had the place to ourselves for a little while."

"Oh yes, Joseph, I think that's a wonderful idea. Thank you."

"Certainly. Why don't you just stay here and get some more rest, and I'll go downstairs and cook you a little something for supper?"

"Oh, I really would love that. Thank you, darling."

Joseph leaned in and gave her a big kiss, and then he got up off the bed and started to walk out. Just before he left, though, he turned around and said, "Clarisse, I love you. I love _both_ of you."

Clarisse smiled, patted her very round stomach, and said, "We love you, too."


	25. Trapped

**Chapter 25: Trapped**

Today was Mia's twenty-second birthday, and she decided weeks ago to have Marjorie clear her schedule for the entire day so she could give herself the day off, and it made her very happy to spend that morning and afternoon on a kind of double date with her best friend. Things had really been getting serious recently between Lilly and Captain Kip Kelly of Genovian Royal Guard, whom she'd met about a year ago shortly before Mia ascended the throne. The couple had kept in touch with each other a great deal over the past year and had really begun to fall in love with each other, and now that Lilly had just graduated with her master's in journalism from Berkeley and had just landed a job as a reporter for the Genovian News Network, she would be staying with Mia in the palace until she found her own place in Genovia, and she would also be spending a lot more time with Kip, obviously. And today, Mia and Jacques spent the day hanging out with Lilly and Kip, and the two best friends really got to know each other's boyfriends and vice versa.

After the foursome got finished eating lunch together outside in the palace garden, Mia and Lilly excused themselves and went for a walk together because it was the first time they'd seen each other in a good while now, and they really wanted to catch up with one another and have some girl talk.

"Ooo-la-la," Lilly said as they started walking together.

Mia laughed and said, "I know; I know."

"I've got to hand it to you, Mia. When it comes to sexiness, on a scale of one to ten, you landed yourself an _eleven._ "

"I know. _And_ , he's an _amazing_ kisser!"

"Well of course he is! He is French, after all. Practically all Frenchmen are natural lovers."

"Well, things haven't gotten _that_ far between us yet. He knows how I feel about wanting to wait until I'm married first, and he's very respectful about that."

"Maybe he is _right now_ , but watch out because men like him don't usually stay that way."

"What do you mean, 'men like him'? Jacques is a very kind, considerate guy."

"Mm-hmm," Lilly said doubtfully.

"Oh come on, Lilly! _Not you, too!_ I already have to listen to all the objections from my grandparents; I even overheard some of the palace staff in the kitchen gossiping about us recently, going on about how they didn't think he was a good choice for me."

"Mia, ever since Elsie Kentworthy broke the story about you two, it's been all over the worldwide media what a ladies' man he is. And Nicholas was the same way. He had the exact same reputation, and you know how _that_ relationship ended up."

Mia let out a frustrated sigh then, and afterwards, Lilly and Mia stopped walking and Lilly put her hand on Mia's shoulder and told her, "Look, I realize that who you date is none of my business, even though I am your best friend. I just don't want to see you get hurt again. That's all. Jacques may end up being a good, decent guy and for your sake, I hope that's the case. All I'm saying is to be careful, and don't take things too fast. Really, _really_ take your time and get to know him first before you let yourself get too close to him."

"I will, Lilly."

"And make sure you're dating him for the right reasons," Lilly told her as they started walking again.

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"I won't lie to you, Mia. I am a little afraid that he may just be using you for his own selfish agenda, whatever that might be, but it's also possible that _you_ could be using _him_ without even realizing it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just why _did_ you call and keep in touch with him after you guys first met that day? Was it _really_ because you liked Jacques for Jacques and wanted to get to know him as a person, or was it simply because of how much you liked his physical appearance?"

" _I did_ like Jacques right from the start, Lilly," Mia insisted, although to be perfectly honest, she wasn't entirely sure that Lilly _wasn't_ right in her assessment of the situation.

"You're like a sister to me. You always have been, and I _do not_ mean to be insensitive. I know that you've really been through a lot these past few months. But could it be possible that after going through a hysterectomy and surgical menopause, you're now starting to feel a little insecure about your womanhood?"

"Oh, so you're saying that I'm dating Jacques solely because I think I need to have a sexy-looking boyfriend in order to help me feel more secure about my womanhood?" Mia asked rather angrily, unable to _believe_ what she was hearing.

"No, I'm not saying that that's _definitely_ the case. But _I am_ saying that it is a _possibility_ after everything that's happened to you. I just think you need to pause, take a deep breath, and maybe do a little soul-searching before you let this relationship go any farther. It wouldn't be fair to you or him if you let things continue between you if you weren't involved with him for the right reasons."

"Well thank you very much for the advice, Dr. Freud," Mia snapped.

"Okay, Mia, look. Just forget I mentioned it. I didn't mean to make you angry. It's your birthday. Let's just change the subject, alright?"

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," Mia said coolly.

"How's your grandmother doing?"

"Like all the rest of us, I think she's going really crazy with anticipation, waiting for Isaac to hurry up and finally get here. Frankly, that baby is driving _everybody_ nuts right now, especially me! She's been having false labor pains _forever_ now, but that stubborn little rascal _just won't come!_ Ever since yesterday, she and Grandpa have just been hanging out together in their suite by themselves and according to Grandpa, she's been sleeping a lot, too, so that's a good thing. She's definitely going to need it!"

"I'll say! You know, I used to believe that Christianity was just opiate for the masses. I used to believe that God was just a crutch for weak people to lean on."

"Hey! You know I've always believed in Jesus."

"I know, and I didn't mean any offense. But anyway, my point is, after watching you win the royal lottery and go from an ordinary kid to a royal princess, and then after watching you getting crowned Queen of Genovia, and _then_ after finding out about your grandmother's medically inexplicable pregnancy, let's just say I'm starting to rethink my position. After hanging out with you and your family all these years, I really am starting to believe in the whole concept of a loving, caring God, getting personally involved in people's lives and…even working miracles. I guess miracles really can and do still happen in this crazy, messed up world."

"I think Grandma, Isaac, and I are all living proof that that's true," Mia said with a smile.

"I'll be really happy to meet the little fellow…if he _ever_ decides to get here, that is!"

" _I know!_ " Mia groaned with a roll of her eyes. "He's killing us all! He really is! My father and my Uncle Pierre were both born two weeks late, so Grandma was _really_ hoping that Isaac wouldn't be overdue and considering her age, none of us really believed that he would be. However, even though I know it's got to be driving Grandma crazier than anyone else, I must say, she's really handling it all amazingly well. But poor Grandpa! He's a wreck!"

Lilly laughed and said, "I imagine so. I think in some ways, the final weeks and days of pregnancy are actually just as hard on dads as they are on moms."

"I think the final days of this pregnancy have been even _harder_ on Grandpa than they have been on Grandma. I mean, I know it's not at all easy for Grandma, especially considering her age, but she's already done this twice before, so I think that even though it is hard, she's actually able to take it in her stride. Grandpa's a first-time dad, and…well…he's behaving like a first-time dad. Did you know that until Grandma found out about it and made him stop, for a time, he was actually sleeping with his clothes on underneath his pajamas because he didn't want to take the time to get his clothes out of the closet and get dressed when it was time to go to the hospital?"

Lilly laughed out loud when Mia told her that. "No, I didn't know that, as a matter of fact. Poor Joseph! If Isaac doesn't come soon, he just might lose his mind completely!"

Mia and Lilly had a good laugh together for a couple of moments, and then they decided to rejoin the guys.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the bedchamber of their suite, Joseph was really beginning to get worried about Clarisse. Ever since about two o'clock that afternoon, Clarisse had started getting the worst pain in her lower back, and the only way she could get any kind of relief from the pain was to stay crouched on all fours on their bed. Joseph had propped some pillows up under her so she could be as comfortable as possible, and he'd given her several long massages, which were helpful. Clarisse also asked Joseph to press down on her lower back a good bit that day because for some reason, having him put pressure on her lower back helped, too.

"Clarisse, you know, I've heard of some women having back labor," Joseph said to her at four-thirty that afternoon as he was applying pressure to Clarisse's lower back again. "Do you think that could be what's making your back hurt so much today?"

"Oh no, Joseph. All in all, this pregnancy has been very similar to my first two, and when I went into labor with Pierre and Philippe, each time, my contractions dragged on and on for hours and the pain was always in my abdomen. And I'm certain this birth is going to be just like my first two births were since so much of this pregnancy has been so much like my first two pregnancies, too. I'm sure I'm just having a lot of back pain right now because I'm older and pregnant."

"Yeah, but you said the other day that you were getting that same kind of feeling that you got just before Pierre and Philippe were born. You said you were feeling strange, just like you did before your first two births. This could be it, Clarisse."

"I suppose it could be, but I really don't think it is. Knowing this little rascal I'm carrying, he might take another day or two."

Joseph chuckled then and said, "Yeah, you do have a point. Isaac hasn't exactly been _cooperative_ during this pregnancy. He keeps you up all the time with all his kicking, and then he takes forever and a day to arrive."

"That's certainly true!" Clarisse agreed with a laugh.

Half an hour later, politicians, diplomats, celebrities, and reporters from all over the world began arriving at the palace for the annual ball celebrating Mia's birthday. Naturally, the birthday of the Queen was a big national event for all of Genovia, and a big event for much of the rest of the world as well. Lilly was attending with Kip, of course, and although not everybody approved, Jacques was officially Mia's "date," so to speak, at the ball. Both the men wore fine tuxes, and Lilly wore a lovely, simple, black satin evening gown with spaghetti straps and a matching black wrap, and she did look incredibly nice. Mia, however, looked even _more_ beautiful in her floor-length, velvet, short-sleeved blue evening gown. Her hair was up in a nice bun, and she wore one of her beautiful sparkling tiaras on top of her head, as well as a necklace which had a teardrop-shaped sapphire on a silver chain, and matching teardrop-shaped sapphire earrings that went with her blue velvet dress just perfectly, as well as a simple silver bracelet on her left wrist. Mia was an absolute _vision_ that night. To put it mildly, the Queen of Genovia was simply _stunning_.

And the Dowager Queen of Genovia really, _really_ hated it that she was stuck upstairs, missing her granddaughter's big birthday ball. Mia's birthday meant a very great deal to Clarisse, especially after her recent battle with cancer. But the fact of the matter was, with her being five days overdue now, she was simply in no condition to attend, and Mia understood completely.

Thankfully for Clarisse, about an hour after the big ball started downstairs, her back pain really began to subside. And for the next hour, _mercifully_ , she was able to take a much-needed nap.

When Clarisse woke up from her nap at about fifteen minutes after seven that night, as always, she had to make a trip to the bathroom. Afterwards, just as she was finishing washing her hands, something very unexpected happened, and _she knew_ she needed Joseph.

"Joseph! Joseph, could you come in here for a minute, please?" she called out.

A quick moment later, Joseph opened the bathroom door and walked in. "What is it, sweetheart? Are you alright?"

Clarisse locked her eyes with Joseph's then. It was the moment _they both_ had been waiting for, forever and a day, as Joseph put it. "Joseph, it's time," she told him.

"Are you sure?" Joseph asked anxiously, and Clarisse nodded.

"Yes, Joseph, I'm quite sure. It seems you were right about me having back labor."

"What makes you say that?"

"My memories from the later part of my labor with Pierre aren't too clear because of those awful drugs they gave me, but when I was about eight or nine centimeters dilated in my labor with Philippe, I started getting the strong urge to push, even though the doctors told me I couldn't yet. And that's happening now, Joseph. I don't know how far along I am, but I can tell that I am _a lot_ farther along in my labor right now than either one of us could have imagined because I just started getting that same urge to push. Isaac's coming, Joseph. _He's really coming._ "

"Okay, sweetheart. Okay. Don't worry. Everything's going to be just fine. We'll get you to the hospital right now," Joseph tried to assure her, although Clarisse couldn't help but notice the nervousness in his voice, and she smiled. As a first-time daddy, Joseph really was adorable.

In that next second, Joseph turned around to open the bathroom door so they could get ready to leave…and soon discovered that they wouldn't be going anywhere! Of all times for that _dreadful_ bathroom door to get stuck, unfortunately, it just _had_ to happen _now!_

"Oh, no! Don't tell me it's stuck!" Clarisse said aloud.

Joseph spent the next minute or so trying _desperately_ hard to open it, but it simply wouldn't budge. Finally, he said with a sigh, "It's stuck."

Clarisse and Joseph had spent most of their lives living and working together in the palace, side by side. They'd handled all kinds of personal and political situations together, and they were each certain that they could handle just about anything as long as they had each other. However, _this_ particular situation _really_ took the cake! Here they were, newlyweds, at the tail end of a high-risk pregnancy, and Clarisse's labor had _definitely_ begun…and they were trapped in the bathroom alone, with _no one_ nearby to hear their cries for help because the entire palace staff was downstairs with Mia at her birthday ball. _Trapped!_

After they both called out for help in vain for about the next ten minutes, they finally gave it up, and simply started praying that _somehow_ , they would be rescued before Isaac came. And because of all the places he'd been and people he'd met from all over the world as Clarisse's Royal Head of Security over the years, he had learned swear words in twelve different languages. And while he would never use any profanity out loud and _certainly_ not in front of Clarisse, and even though he knew it was wrong and knew he'd have to apologize to God for it later, he started mentally swearing in all twelve languages!


	26. Still Trapped

**Chapter 26: Still Trapped**

After calling out for help in vain for several long minutes, Clarisse and Joseph finally gave up and resigned themselves to the fact that they were _definitely_ trapped in their bathroom for the time being. Clarisse soon put the lid down on the toilet and sat down and when she did that, Joseph grabbed the stool in the next room and brought it in where Clarisse was and sat down next to her, and for the first fifteen minutes or so that they were stuck in there, Clarisse just basically fought off the urge to push. However, after they'd been in there a little while, her lower back pain suddenly came back with a terrible vengeance.

"Oh, no," she gasped as she tensed up with pain. "There it is again."

"The pain in your lower back?"

"Yes! Oh Joseph, it's terrible. Oh, I need to change positions. I need to get on the floor. I need to be on my hands and knees again like I was on the bed earlier today."

"Hold on a minute, sweetheart," Joseph told her, and then he opened up the big oak linen cabinet that was across from the double sink in the first room of their bathroom. Thankfully, that cabinet was full of extra pillows, blankets, towels, washcloths, and sheets, and Joseph took out plenty of each. Then he put the pillows down on the floor to make a kind of makeshift bed for Clarisse so she wouldn't be stuck on her hands and knees on a hard floor. Then he helped Clarisse get up off the toilet and onto her hands and knees on the pillows.

"Oh yes, that's it," Clarisse said after Joseph helped her change positions. "That's better, but I still need you to put some pressure on my back, Joseph."

"Of course," he said as he got down on his knees beside her – forgetting all about his knee replacement – and started applying pressure. "Is that helping?"

"Yes," Clarisse sighed, and then the pain started to pass. "Okay, you can stop now. The pain's over."

"Alright, dear," Joseph said, and then he removed his hands from her lower back and sat down on the floor next to her while Clarisse relaxed on the pillows.

"Well, Joseph my love, I must say that as far as labors go, this one actually hasn't been too bad. I mean, the pain in my back has been _murder_ today, but still, my first two labors with Pierre and Philippe were a lot more traumatic than this one has been so far."

"Thank God it's going more smoothly than your labor with Pierre. When I found you back in that maternity ward, screaming your head off and hallucinating and actually _tied down_ to that hospital bed, I was never more worried or scared in my whole life, not to mention angry. _I could have killed_ the doctors and nurses that _dared_ to do that to you. I can't even _begin_ to imagine how scared _you_ must have been."

"As long as we're on the subject of past traumatic experiences, I may as well go on and admit it that with the exception of losing Philippe, my labor with Pierre was really the _worst_ thing I ever went through in my life."

"I bet it was!"

Clarisse turned on her left side on the pillows then to face Joseph, and she looked into his eyes and asked him, "Joseph, are you scared now?"

Joseph shook his head and replied, "No, I'm not scared at all. _I'm terrified._ "

Clarisse laughed when he said that, and in the next moment, she reached out and took his hand and told him honestly, "Me, too." Then she laughed again and said, "Who would have guessed that after all our years of living and working together, side by side, one day, you and I would eventually end up married, expecting a baby at this time in our lives, and in alone in another room with you having to help me through another labor?"

"Not me; that's for sure," Joseph responded, and then he gave Clarisse a loving smile and squeezed her hand. "But we got through it once before. We can do it again if we have to."

Clarisse returned the smile and said, "I know. But I will say this. Even though you and I are older now and even though we have all our years of life experience under our belts, I think that deep down in our hearts, we're still those same scared kids we were all those years ago."

"Oh, I know we are. But don't worry, sweetheart. I promise you, everything's going to be alright. I promise you I'll take care of you; of _both_ of you."

They were still holding hands, and it was Clarisse who now squeezed Joseph's hand as she said, "I never _once_ doubted that, darling. I won't try to pretend I'm not afraid about all this, but I know I have both God and you looking out for Isaac and me now, and I couldn't ask for anything more." It was in that precise moment that Clarisse's water suddenly broke, and the instant after it happened, she added, "Except for dry clothes!"

"It's alright, love. I'll take care of it," Joseph said. Clarisse was wearing a pair of light blue silk maternity pajamas. The pajama top was plenty big and it almost went down to her knees, and the pajama bottoms were equally roomy, and in that moment, Joseph slipped the wet pajama pants and underwear right off and put them in the nearby hamper. Then he quickly covered Clarisse's lower half with some of the sheets and one of the blankets he'd gotten out of the big linen cabinet, and he also replaced the pillows that had gotten soaked with dry ones as well.

"That's better. Thank you, dear."

"Don't mention it," Joseph said, and then a couple of seconds later, the pain in Clarisse's back returned again and she had to get back on her hands and knees on the pillows. As she started rocking back and forth, Joseph asked, "What do you need me to do this time, love? Do you need pressure, or do you need a massage?"

Clarisse shook her head then and answered, "Neither. This time, I just want to rock."

"Okay, sweetheart. I'm right here."

After about a minute or so, the pain finally subsided and Clarisse relaxed and said, "There. It's over now."

"You're so brave, Clarisse."

Clarisse waved her hand and said, "It's no big deal, Joseph. Women have babies all the time."

"Well _I_ say it's a _very_ big deal. You really are an extraordinary woman to be so calm like this."

"Thank you, darling. It's just experience; that's all. After so many years as Queen, I guess I learned long ago how to keep my head and stay calm no matter how difficult things got. I mean, it'll hardly do either one of us or Isaac any good for me to get all emotional and go crazy right now."

"This is true," Joseph agreed, and then he lovingly kissed the top of her head.

However, things wouldn't stay all calm and loving between Clarisse and Joseph for too much longer. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Clarisse went through a series of absolutely _awful_ labor pains in her back, combined with an ever-building, _incredibly intense_ need to push that she felt she couldn't allow herself to give into because she was still hoping against hope that somehow, they'd be rescued and would be able to make it to the hospital in time. Finally, when one really bad, intense pain ripped through her lower back and she _yet again_ had to _somehow_ try to fight off the truly overwhelming urge to push, it was enough to even make Queen Clarisse Renaldi lose her composure and get angry. And in fact, she wasn't just angry, but _furious_ at Joseph for getting her into this mess in the first place, and in those moments, she gave in to the desire to _really_ let her husband have it!

" _Joseph, I hate you!_ " she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Why? What did I do?!" he asked in shock, trying to figure out just _what_ it was he had done that had made Clarisse so mad at him just now.

"You got me in this ridiculous mess, you jerk! _That's what you did! And I hate you for it!_ "

"Now hold on a minute, Clarisse. Be fair. _It does_ take two to make a baby, you know. And besides, at your age, your ovaries _were supposed_ to have closed up shop already. There was no way I could have known this would happen!"

" _I don't care!_ " Clarisse angrily shouted. "I never will forget the night this baby was conceived. You came into our bedroom and got in bed, and then you started kissing me on that one spot on my neck that drives me crazy! _You know perfectly well_ that when you kiss me on that spot on my neck, I become instant silly putty in your hands and I cannot say no, so for that reason, _yes, I can_ say _that this whole thing was completely your fault! And I hate you for it!_ I wouldn't be in this mess at all right now if it weren't for _you and all your tomfoolery!_ "

Joseph actually laughed then and said, " _My tomfoolery?_ "

" _That's right, Joseph! You and your tomfoolery!_ And I want you to go away from me!"

"Oh Clarisse, come on, now. Be reasonable!"

Clarisse looked Joseph right in the eye in that moment and yelled, " _Go!_ "

"Clarisse, we're stuck in the bathroom! There's nowhere for me _to_ go!"

"Go stick your nose in the corner!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! When little kids in school are naughty, the teachers make them stand with their noses in the corner in time out. And since I'm going through all this pain and frustration because of you and your tomfoolery right now, I am officially putting you in time out! _Go!_ "

"Alright, Clarisse," Joseph sighed as he got up off the floor. "I'll do it if it'll make you feel any better."

" _Good!_ " Clarisse yelled, and then like a good supportive husband, Joseph stuck his nose in the nearest corner next to the sink while Clarisse continued to rock her way through the contractions on her hands and knees.

After another ten minutes passed, Clarisse _really_ couldn't take it anymore. Joseph was still standing with his nose in the corner when all of the sudden, Clarisse let loose with the loudest yell Joseph had ever heard, and right after that, Clarisse started screaming all kinds of different swear words in a multitude of different languages. Joseph really started debating it with himself then as to whether or not he should leave his corner and go back to Clarisse and try to help her. He really wanted to help her, of course, but at the same time, he was afraid that if he did go over to her right now, that would only make her even angrier and more upset than she already was.

However, when Clarisse got _so_ incredibly mad that she started grabbing nearby objects, like her slippers and Joseph's shoes that he'd had to take off because they'd gotten wet when her water broke, and _actually threw them_ across the room, that's when Joseph _knew_ he had to step in. He left his "time out" corner then and knelt down beside her while Clarisse continued to yell her head off in pure frustration.

"Clarisse, talk to me, _please._ What's wrong, sweetheart? What's wrong?"

" _I have never been more frustrated before in my entire life! That's what's wrong!_ " she snapped.

"Okay, okay. Why are you so frustrated? What's happening, darling? What's going on?"

"I'm frustrated because _I am so tired of not being able to push!_ I'm sick and tired of being pregnant! I'm sick and tired of being old on top of that! I am sick and tired of all this _dreadful_ pain in my back that just _never_ goes away no matter _what_ I do, _and I am sick and tired of not being able to push! I have never been this mad or this frustrated before in my entire life and I am sick and tired of it!_ "

"Clarisse, listen to me, sweetheart. I know you wanted to wait until we were rescued and made it to the hospital before you started to push, but I think we have to face reality now. I don't think we can make it to the hospital in time. I know you wanted Dr. Hart to deliver Isaac, and frankly, that's what _I_ wanted, too, but I don't think we have much choice now. I think you and I are going to have to bring Isaac into the world by ourselves."

"Oh, God help us," Clarisse groaned.

"He will, sweetheart. He will. And I'll be right here with you every step of the way. Everything's going to be alright, so don't worry about anything. Just push whenever you need to push. Your body's telling you to push for a reason, so don't fight it anymore. Listen to what your body's telling you, Clarisse. Do what your body's telling you to do now. It's alright."

A moment later, Clarisse once again got the overwhelming urge to push, and this time, she didn't try to fight it anymore. She just took a deep breath and pushed with everything she had, and it was a _great_ relief to her to be able to do so.

"Yes, that's it, love. That's it. That's it. You're doing great. You're doing just great," Joseph told her as she pushed. When the push was over, he asked, "Did that help?"

Clarisse nodded and said, " _Yes._ That helped _a lot._ It was such a _relief_. Not being able to push was driving me absolutely crazy!"

"I'm sure it was."

In that next second, Clarisse said, "Oh, Joseph, here we go again!"

"It's alright, Clarisse. It's alright. Push," Joseph told her, and Clarisse pushed just as hard as she could, which again, was a great relief to her.

Clarisse continued to push with Joseph by her side for the next fifteen minutes or so, until finally, she told Joseph, "Joseph, this position just isn't working for me anymore. I need to try something else. Will you help me to stand, please?"

"Of course, my dear," he said, and then he helped her up off the pillows.

Clarisse then walked into the adjacent room where the shower and bathtub were, and when she felt the need to push again, she bent over a little bit and started pulling on the towel rack for leverage. She did this several times until one time when she was pushing, she actually ended up pulling on the towel rack so hard that it gave way and came loose from the wall.

"Well isn't _this_ just fine and dandy?!" Clarisse said sarcastically.

"Hold on, darling. Let me help you into the other room, here. I've got an idea."

"What is it?" Clarisse asked as she started walking with Joseph, but then just before they made it into the other room, Clarisse had to stop and get down on all fours again. "Wait, Joseph. I have to push again," she told him as she started getting down on her hands and knees once more. And yet again, Joseph forgot all about his knee replacement and knelt down on the floor beside Clarisse as she pushed.

"Good job, Clarisse. Good job," he told her when she was finished pushing, and then he helped her stand up again and helped her walk into the adjacent room where the toilet was. Then he had Clarisse sit down on the closed toilet where she'd been sitting before and Joseph sat down in front of her on the stool.

"Now, what's this idea of yours?" she asked him.

"It's very simple, actually. You need to pull on something for leverage to help you push, right?"

"Right."

"Well that something is going to be me. Whenever you need to push, just grab my hands and pull as hard as you can, and I'll pull in the opposite direction."

"Oh, yes, that does sound like a good idea."

"I've been known to have them from time to time," Joseph teased, and Clarisse laughed.

A moment later, Clarisse held out her hands and yelled, " _Pull, Joseph!_ "

"Yes, ma'am!" he responded, and then he immediately grabbed her hands and pulled while she pulled on his hands with all her strength, and when she did that, Joseph was actually rather surprised at how much physical strength his wife possessed. He'd always known how strong and healthy Clarisse was for her age, of course, but he had honestly underestimated just how physically strong she could be.

A minute later, she had to push again, and this time, she _really_ needed to just grunt and growl as hard as she could. "Oh, my!" she gasped once that push was over. "I don't believe I've _ever_ made such a ghastly noise in my entire life!"

Joseph laughed because the noise Clarisse had made was really _nothing_ compared to the kind of noises he'd heard throughout his lifetime, and then he told Clarisse, "Don't worry about it, my love. I actually really like the way you push!"

"Oh, quit being so silly, Joseph!"

"No, it's true!" he insisted. "You rule with gusto. You eat with gusto. You even _push_ with gusto!"

"Oh, Joseph!" Clarisse said as she rolled her eyes at him.

In that next moment, Joseph asked, "Are you getting warm? Would you like a wet cloth for your face?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Joseph said as he got a washcloth and wetted it at the double sink. Then he started dabbing it all over Clarisse's face and forehead, which felt really good to her.

Clarisse pushed twice more, "with gusto" as Joseph put it, and then after _all_ they'd been through that day and all of Clarisse's hard work, it _finally_ happened.

"Oh, God! Clarisse, he's here! I see his head!" Joseph announced the instant Isaac started crowning.

" _Really?_ " Clarisse asked, unable to believe that it was _finally_ beginning to happen after all the waiting they'd had to endure!

" _Yes, really!_ " Joseph said aloud, his face just _bursting_ with joy and excitement. Seeing _his own child_ starting to come into the world was a feeling unlike anything he ever could have imagined!

"It's a good thing he _finally_ decided to show up, Joseph, because I'm old and tired and I do _not_ have that many pushes left in me!"

"You may be tired, sweetheart, but I promise you, you will _never_ get old. Not to me," Joseph said with tears of joy brimming his eyes, and then he gave Clarisse an _incredible_ kiss.

Then Clarisse needed to push again, and in that moment, she said, "Oh, Joseph," and reached for his hands.

"Yes, Clarisse! That's it! You're doing it! He's coming!" Joseph said aloud as the head started to come, and then he let go of one of her hands so he could support Isaac's head with the other. "You did it, Clarisse!" he told her a moment later. "You did it! The head's out." Joseph had already laid out a big bath towel over his lap to wrap Isaac up in when he came, and he scooted up even closer to Clarisse than he already was in that moment so that his knees were touching hers. "Just rest a minute, darling," he told her then.

But Clarisse shook her head and said, "One more." And Joseph could tell by the look of fiery determination in his wife's eyes that _now_ was _not_ a good time to try to argue with her, so he gave her his arm to pull on while he continued to support Isaac's head with his other hand.

After that push, Isaac's shoulders and chest were delivered. "You're doing great, Clarisse. You're doing an amazing job, sweetheart. Just amazing."

Once Clarisse caught her breath again, she said, "I love you, Joseph, and I appreciate the encouragement, but I don't need compliments right now. I need a progress report. How far out is he now?"

Joseph had to fight to stifle a laugh then. That was _so_ like Clarisse. Her emotions may have gotten the best of her before, which was perfectly understandable of course, but now, she purely practical and logical in her thinking, and she was all business. Queen Clarisse Renaldi had a job to do and the only thing she cared about now was how far she'd progressed in getting that job _finished._ Joseph just loved it about her that she wasn't interested in compliments or encouragement now, but news of her progress only and nothing else.

"His head, shoulders, and chest are out," Joseph told her. "You're halfway there." Clarisse let out a tired sigh and nodded. "He should come all the way out with the next contraction."

"Oh, dear Lord, I hope so! I'm too old for this sort of thing, Joseph!"

"Nonsense, Clarisse! Nonsense! You're just getting your second wind!"

"Oh, shut up!" Clarisse told Joseph, and he laughed. Then a couple of seconds later, Clarisse cried out, "Oh, Joseph, this is it! He's coming!"

Joseph gave Clarisse his arm again, and Clarisse pushed one last time. A few seconds later, Joseph announced, " _You did it, Clarisse! You did it! He's here!_ "

"He's out now?" Clarisse asked breathlessly.

"Yes, he's out. He's all the way out now," Joseph replied.

"Thank God," Clarisse sighed, and then she took a quick second to catch her breath again.

But then Clarisse and Joseph realized something: silence filled the room, _not_ the sound of the crying of a newborn.

Clarisse asked Joseph then, "What's wrong, Joseph? Why isn't he crying?"

"I'm not sure," Joseph replied as he dried his son off with the towel in his lap.

Clarisse locked her eyes with Joseph's in that moment and told him, " _Give him to me._ "

Joseph knew that voice. It wasn't the Clarisse voice he was used to, but the authoritative, commanding voice of the Queen, and he knew exactly what that meant. He knew that the Queen was about to take charge of the situation, and _he knew_ to do exactly as she said and _not_ to argue, so he immediately handed Isaac over to Clarisse like she said.

For the next several moments, Clarisse put Isaac over her shoulder and patted his back, much like a person would do when she was burping a baby. _Mercifully_ for Joseph and _especially_ for Clarisse, in that next second, Clarisse's patting on his back caused Isaac to cough up some mucus, and he let out a nice, _loud_ cry. And the instant he did that, both of his parents started crying right along with him.

"Yes, that's it, sweetheart," Clarisse told Isaac through her tears while he continued to cry. "That's it. Good boy. _Good boy._ " Then a moment later, she said to Joseph, "Get me a clean towel, would you please, dear?"

Joseph was actually too _stunned_ to respond. It was the most _incredible_ thing he'd ever seen! As a man, he couldn't even _begin_ to imagine the agony of childbirth, and yet Clarisse had just endured it all _astonishingly_ well, and on top of going through _such_ a painful experience, she'd kept her head even when their son hadn't been breathing, and she'd figured out what to do to get him to start crying. To say the least, Joseph was in shock. _In awe._

Clarisse then snapped her fingers in front of Joseph's face and said, "Earth to Joseph."

"Huh?" he finally responded, and this time, it was Clarisse who had to stifle a laugh.

"Joseph, I need a clean towel over here to wrap Isaac up in."

"Oh, right! Right," he said, and then he got up from the stool and got a fresh towel and handed it to Clarisse, who wrapped it around Isaac.

For the next several minutes, Clarisse held Baby Isaac in her arms and just simply stared into his little face, taking in all his features, and Joseph continued to stare at _both_ of them, again in pure awe, and they didn't say a word. They just sat together and listened as their newborn son's crying turned into adorable cooing, and they looked into their baby's face, trying to absorb everything that had just happened.

As it turned out, Dr. Mackenzie's declaration in the beginning that Isaac was bald was not at all accurate. He had a head full of blonde hair just like his mother's, which pleased Joseph immensely. Joseph had dark blue eyes and Clarisse's eyes were a lighter shade of blue, and Joseph was equally pleased when he saw that their son also had his mother's light blue eyes. However, his nose, cheeks, chin, and profile were all Joseph's, and Clarisse just loved that.

A few minutes later, the placenta came and Joseph got rid of it. After that, Clarisse started getting chills and feeling shaky, and while she didn't tell Joseph what was going on at first, she did ask him to take Isaac for a while.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked after he took Isaac in his arms.

"I'm just tired."

It was then that Joseph saw that his wife was actually _visibly_ shaking. "Clarisse, _you're shaking._ Come on. I'll help you over here to the pillows, and then you can get under all the sheets and blankets I got out of the linen cabinet earlier. We need to get you warm."

Joseph set Isaac down on one of the pillows for the moment, and then he picked Clarisse up off the toilet seat and carried her over to the makeshift bed he'd created and laid her down and covered her up. Then he picked up Isaac again, and got down on the floor next to Clarisse and sat down next to her with Isaac in his arms.

"Don't worry, Joseph," she told him after he'd moved her. "It's normal to be shaky after giving birth. I really got the shakes after Philippe was born."

"I just want you to be comfortable, that's all," Joseph said, and Clarisse laughed.

"I hate to break this to you, darling, but it's going to be quite a while before I _really_ start to feel comfortable again. In movies and TV shows, they portray it as though a woman can just lose all the baby weight she's gained, get back on her feet, and be perfectly back to normal the moment after she gives birth. Real life does _not_ work like that."

"I know it doesn't, but if _I_ have anything to say about it, _you will_ be comfortable, or at least as comfortable as possible while you recover. We'll get you whatever pain medication from Dr. Hart, and you know I'm here for anything else you need."

In that very moment, Isaac cooed again and Clarisse laughed and smiled, and then she touched his little cheek and looked up at Joseph and said, "Right now, Joseph, as long as I can be with you and look into the face of our child, then I have _everything_ I need."

Joseph gave Clarisse a _very_ long kiss then, and looked into her eyes and smiled. They'd been through a lot. They'd had a _very_ hard night. Clarisse was still in a fair amount of pain from giving birth, and they were _both_ exhausted. And on top of that, they were _still trapped_ in the bathroom! But yet, as they cuddled together with their new baby that night, their hearts were filled with nothing but pure joy.


	27. Isaac's Decisions

**Note to readers:** Thank you all for the reviews and support! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter so much, and I hope you enjoy this one! :)

 **Chapter 27: Isaac's Decisions**

The very moment after Isaac was born, Joseph happened to catch a glimpse of his watch, so he'd known that his son was born at 9:07 P.M. on the fourteenth of June, which of course was also Mia's birthday. It was now ten minutes after ten that night, and the birthday celebration downstairs was still going strong and unfortunately for Clarisse, Joseph, and Isaac, _nobody_ had a clue that they were trapped in the bathroom of their suite.

However, when Mia had gone into their suite to check on her grandma at about a quarter after four that afternoon, just before she started getting ready for the ball, they had told her all about the pain she'd been having in her lower back that day. And all through the ball that night, she had really felt worried about Clarisse. Naturally, as Queen, Mia had to spend much of the night dancing and talking with Sebastian and Parliament members, and with other politicians and diplomats from all over the world. She did get to spend a little bit of time with Jacques and she did get to have one brief dance and discussion with him, but that was all.

Mia just now finished a dance with a diplomat from Spain, and she was just about to try to sneak away upstairs so she could check on her grandparents when young Lord Thomas Worthington, the newest addition to Parliament, a tall, _gorgeous_ knockout with blonde hair and blue eyes, stopped her. He kidded her about making him wait so long for a dance, and then, knowing that as Queen, she had to be all gracious and diplomatic, she agreed to dance with him although she didn't want to.

In the meantime, upstairs, Clarisse was still lying on pillows, buried underneath plenty of sheets and a big blanket, holding Isaac in her arms, and Joseph was lying next to her with his arm around her shoulders. Thankfully, the chills and shaking Clarisse had experienced for a little while just after giving birth had passed and while she still needed the sheets and blanket over her, Joseph noticed that she _did_ seem to be doing a little better now, and little Isaac was still cooing up a storm and seemed to be perfectly happy.

"You like to talk a lot, don't you, young man?" Clarisse said softly with the _biggest_ smile on her face, and Isaac responded with even _more_ cooing, which really made his parents laugh.

Clarisse and Joseph just quietly stared into their son's face for another moment, and then they looked at each other said simultaneously, "Oh, _wow!_ " In the following moment, they gave one another a _very_ big kiss.

A minute later, Clarisse said, "Joseph, help me up, will you? I have something I need to do."

"Do you need to use the toilet?" he asked.

"No, I don't need to use the toilet. I was just thinking that as long as the three of us are stuck in here, I may as well spend my time doing something practical. You know that Isaac's little bathtub is sitting on the table beside our bathtub in the next room. Help me up on my feet, and then go and fill his tub with warm water. After you've done that, we can give our baby a proper bath. At least that way, we won't be wasting our time just lying here."

Joseph had to fight to keep from laughing then. Again, that was _so_ like Clarisse! Joseph knew his wife was a person of _action_ and that she did _not_ handle it very well whenever she needed to just stop and rest, and he _also_ knew that that suggestion meant that she was beginning to feel a little bit like her normal self again after giving birth.

"Darling, _you are_ doing something practical. You're doing it right now."

"What could I possibly be doing that's so practical?"

"You're resting. Resting is a _perfectly_ practical activity for a young lady to be doing after she's just given birth."

Clarisse laughed and said, "A _young_ lady? You're so crazy, Joseph!"

"You're _my_ young lady, Clarisse," Joseph said, and then he kissed her tenderly.

"You're silly," she teased. "I love you, but you're silly."

Joseph laughed, and then he told her, "Seriously love, don't worry about getting up right now. You just take it easy. I'll give Isaac a bath."

"Yeah, but I wanted us to do it together," Clarisse insisted.

"Well, we'll give him his bath together tomorrow. Right now, you get some rest, huh?"

"Oh, alright," Clarisse reluctantly agreed, knowing that Joseph was _not_ going to budge.

While Joseph was preparing his newborn son's very first bath, Mia was downstairs, stuck in a long, _boring_ conversation with Lord Whitney, one of the older Parliament members, and Lilly was also stuck in a dance with Lord Worthington, who had cut in on a dance between her and Kip right after he was finally finished dancing with Mia, which _really_ irritated her.

Thankfully, at _long_ last, Lord Whitney finally started feeling tired and decided to go home for the night with his wife, and at almost precisely the moment Mia's dreary discussion with him came to an end, she saw Lilly signaling for help to escape the equally annoying Lord Worthington.

Mia walked up to them in that moment and tapped Lord Worthington on the shoulder and told him, "Forgive me, Lord Worthington, but I need to steal Lilly away for a moment."

"Of course, Your Majesty," he responded, and then after giving her a respectful bow, he left.

" _Thank you!_ " Lilly cried out the moment he was gone.

"Don't mention it. Anyway, if you'll excuse me, Lilly, I need to go upstairs. Grandma wasn't feeling well earlier this afternoon and I've been a little worried about her. I'm sure she and Grandpa are in bed asleep by now, but I still want to sneak upstairs and pop my head in their bedchamber and check on them just to make sure everything's okay."

"Hey, I'll come with you. Maybe if I'm with you upstairs, I'll be safe from all the dull idiots down here like Lord Worthington," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Mia chuckled and said, "I hear you. Come on."

Mia and Lilly managed to sneak away from everyone then and they went upstairs together, and once they were upstairs, Mia quietly opened the doors to their suite and tiptoed inside with Lilly.

"Hey, the lights are still on," Lilly observed.

"Hmm. Maybe they just forgot to turn the lights off in here before they went to bed or something," Mia said as they walked into the living area of their suite. In that next moment, Mia glanced into their bedchamber. "Hey, wait a minute," she said, and then she walked over to the bedchamber to take a closer look. "The lights are still on in their bedroom and there's nobody inside. Where the heck could they be?" Mia really sensed it then that something was up.

"Well they couldn't have gone far. Maybe someone's in the bathroom," Lilly suggested.

"Right," Mia said, and then she and Lilly walked up to their bathroom door. And when they did, they _both_ heard the strangest sound. It almost sounded like a baby cooing!

"Mia, do you hear that?" asked Lilly.

"Yeah. It almost sounds like a… _baby!_ You don't think…?"

"I don't know."

" _No way! There's no way!_ " Mia said aloud, and then she started knocking on the door. "Hey, Grandma! Grandpa! Are you guys in there?! Is everything alright?!"

"Mia!" Joseph's _very grateful_ voice called out from the other side of the door. "Mia, your grandmother and I need your help! We're stuck in here! We've been stuck in this bathroom for hours!"

"Oh, my gosh! Okay. Don't worry, Grandpa. Lilly's here too and we'll both help you."

"Mia, there's something else. Your grandmother went into labor and while we've been stuck in here, the baby came."

" _The baby came?! Are you serious?!_ " Mia cried out.

" _Very_ serious," Joseph answered.

" _I thought_ that was a baby I heard!" said Lilly.

"Oh, _wow!_ Oh, Lord! Lilly, what are we going to do?! We have to get them out of there!"

"Hang on a second," she told Mia. "Joseph, stand back for a sec. I'm going to try to get the door open from this side, alright?"

"Alright, Lilly," Joseph said, and then he walked back over to where Clarisse and Isaac were. The fact of the matter was, even though Joseph had tried, _desperately_ tried many times to get the door open, it was quite impossible because the bathroom door opened to the inside, and really, the only way to get it open when it got stuck was for somebody from the other side of the door to give it a good, hard nudge.

In that moment, Lilly gave it a hard bump, but it still wouldn't budge.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "This door is _seriously_ stuck."

"Hey, why don't the two of us try bumping the door together, at the same time? Maybe that'll be enough force to get it open," Mia suggested.

"It's worth a try," Lilly said, and then the two young ladies did exactly that and gave it a hard bump. Unfortunately, though, it still wasn't enough to get the door open.

"I just want to state for the record _that I really hate this stupid door!_ " Mia yelled.

"Me, too!" Lilly agreed. "But I've got another idea. This time, you and I should try running into the door at the same time. Surely _that_ will be enough force to jar it open."

"Good idea, Lilly. Kick your shoes off," Mia told her as she started taking off her blue high heels. Lilly took her shoes off a moment later, too, and then she and Mia walked back from the door a good bit and prepared to run into it.

"Okay, Lilly, on three."

"Right."

"One. Two. Three!" Mia said, and then they immediately ran into the door as hard and fast as they could…and it was _still_ stuck! And on top of that, it wasn't exactly a _comfortable_ experience for their shoulders, either!

"You okay?" Lilly asked Mia as they were both rubbing their shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you girls alright?" Joseph's voice called from inside.

"We're fine, Grandpa," Mia replied.

"Listen, whatever you girls do, I don't want you to hurt yourselves. Get Shades and the boys up here."

"Um, excuse me, Joseph, but are you suggesting that Mia and I can't knock this door open just because we're girls?"

"I'm _suggesting_ , Lilly, that you two might get hurt in the attempt, and I don't want to see that happen. This is a very heavy door."

"Okay, you guys, listen," said Mia. "Lilly, you and I will give it one more try, and if we can't get the door open this time, then we'll go get Shades to help us."

"Alright," Lilly agreed, and then they walked back even farther away from the door than they did the first time. And afterwards, Lilly said aloud, "We are women! _Hear us roar!_ " And then they both started running into the door as hard and fast as they could.

And _thankfully_ , it was actually enough this time around to knock that stubborn door open!

"Are you ladies alright?" Joseph asked them the moment they came into the bathroom.

"Yeah, Grandpa, we're fine," Mia answered as she walked over to where Clarisse and Isaac were. "Oh, Grandma!" she gasped after she had knelt down on the floor next to them and started taking a good look at Isaac, nestled in his mother's arms. (Joseph had just begun filling Isaac's little bathtub with warm water when Mia and Lilly discovered they were trapped in the bathroom, so obviously, he hadn't had a chance to give him his bath yet.) "Oh, _wow!_ "

Clarisse laughed then and said, "You know, Joseph and I said the same thing."

"I'll go get help," Lilly said, and then she turned around and walked out to go find Shades or Marjorie, or _someone_ who could get an ambulance out to the palace.

" _Are you okay?!_ " Mia asked Clarisse, and she smiled.

"Oh yes, my love. I'm fine. Tired, but fine."

" _I'll bet_ you're tired. Did you have a hard time with the labor and delivery?"

"Actually, this was my easiest one, thanks to Joseph," Clarisse said as she made eye contact with her husband.

"And Isaac is _so beautiful!_ "

"He certainly is," Clarisse agreed. "Anyway, darling, will you please go downstairs and prepare a bottle for him while we wait for the paramedics to get here? I'm quite confident that our new baby would very much like to have his first meal."

"Of course. I'll be right back," Mia said, and then just before she got up, she gave Clarisse a big kiss on the cheek, and then she kissed the top of Isaac's forehead.

After Mia left, Joseph picked Clarisse and Isaac up off the floor and carried them to the bed so that Clarisse could be more comfortable.

The paramedics arrived shortly after Clarisse had finished feeding Isaac his first bottle. Security had already been stepped up because of the ball, but thankfully, Shades and his men really outdid themselves in keeping reporters and spectators at bay so that Clarisse, Joseph, Isaac, and Mia could all get to the hospital together without any hassle.

Dr. Hart was at the emergency room, ready and waiting for them the moment they got there. She'd already heard the whole story about how Joseph had delivered Isaac, and the instant she saw him, she asked him, "Joseph, I need you to try and remember something for me. This is very important. When the placenta came, did it all come out in one piece, or did it tear apart into several pieces?"

"It all came out in one piece, doctor. Why?"

Dr. Hart sighed a sigh of relief then and told him, "That's very good, Joseph. If it had torn apart, there could have still been pieces of it left behind inside Queen Clarisse's body, and if that had happened, it would have been a very painful procedure to get them all out. If any part of the placenta remains inside the mother's body for too long, it could make the mother seriously ill."

"Oh, I see. No, it definitely came out in one piece. I remember."

"That's good news. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to examine mother and baby now."

"Of course," Joseph said, and then she walked into the room where Clarisse, Isaac, and Mia were, and a couple of moments later, Dr. Hart sent Mia outside into the hallway with Joseph while she examined Clarisse and Isaac.

As it turned out, miraculously enough, mother and baby were both in good shape, regardless of Clarisse's age and regardless of the fact that his delivery wasn't medically supervised. Dr. Hart was also amazed to discover after examining Clarisse that her uterus had already contracted back down to a normal size. It usually took a longer time for that to happen, and it also usually required several massages, which were often very painful for the mother. Mercifully, Clarisse would be spared that further pain.

After Clarisse got settled in her big hospital suite for the night, which was huge and luxurious and even had an adjoining living room and dining room, she and Joseph curled up together in Clarisse's queen-sized hospital bed and went to sleep, with Isaac bathed and dressed in light blue baby footie pajamas, sleeping in the hospital bassinet next to his parents' bed. Knowing how badly Clarisse needed to settle down and rest, thankfully, Mia didn't stay to visit with them for too long. Isaac did wake up during the night needing to be changed, but Joseph got up and took care of that while Clarisse remained dead to the world.

Mia was so excited about little Isaac's arrival that she hardly got any sleep at all that night, and she was at the hospital at seven o'clock sharp, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, which was a good thing because practically the second she walked into the hospital suite, Isaac started crying for his next feeding, and Clarisse and Joseph were both lying in bed in a coma. Mia fed him and burped him, and rocked him in the nearby rocking chair for the longest time. Then she had one of the nurses bring a baby bathtub into the bathroom so she could bathe him.

After his bath was over, Mia dried him off with a big towel and wrapped him up in a blanket and set him down on the counter of the big double sink. Clarisse's hospital bathroom was in fact very similar to her own at the palace. The counter of the double sink was made of golden marble, as were the walls and nearby shower/tub combination, and the floor was also mahogany, again just like Clarisse's bathroom. Mia had brought three packages of diapers in there, and she'd also laid out three onesies, as well as five different rubber duckies. One was blue, one was red, one was green, one was yellow, and one was white with multicolored polka dots.

"Okay, Isaac," Mia said in baby talk as she picked him up off the counter. It was in that moment that, unbeknownst to her, Clarisse and Joseph were standing nearby, watching and listening to everything. (They had awakened a couple of minutes ago and naturally, when they did and they saw and Isaac wasn't in his bassinet, they got up to investigate.) "We have an important decision to make today. I forgot to ask you about this before I gave you your bath this morning, but I want to ask you about it now. Which rubber ducky do you want to have in the tub with you from now on when we give you your bath?" Mia asked him, again, all in baby talk (all the while Clarisse and Joseph were quietly laughing). "Do you want the blue one?" she asked in baby talk while holding the blue rubber ducky in front of him, and Isaac gave no reaction at all. "Do you want the polka-dotted one?" she asked, holding up the polka-dotted rubber duck, again, with no reaction from Isaac. "Do you want to go with Old Reliable?" she asked as she held up the yellow duck, and it was then that Isaac smiled and cooed. "Okay, then! We'll go with Old Reliable. Yes, we will! Yes, we will! I think that's best anyway. I like the traditional yellow rubber ducky in my bath, too," she told him, still talking to him in baby talk.

"Now," she continued, "we have another big decision to make today." Then she walked over to where she had put the three packages of diapers on the counter of the double sink. "When it comes to diapers, which kind do you want to wear?" she asked in baby talk. "Do you want the Huggies, the Pampers, or the Luvs?"

The instant Mia asked Isaac that in baby talk, Clarisse and Joseph couldn't stand it anymore, and they had to go back over to the hospital bed because they knew if they stayed where they were, they would just _fall apart_ laughing!

"The Huggies, the Pampers, or the Luvs," Joseph said as he helped Clarisse over to the bed, and Clarisse had a good laugh.

"I'll ask you again, Isaac," Mia told him in baby talk. "Do you want the Huggies?" she asked as she held him close to the Huggies package of diapers so he could get a good look at it. "The Pampers?" she asked while doing the same thing. "Or the Luvs?" And in that moment, Isaac's little arm reached out and bumped the Luvs package. "Alrighty, then! We'll use the Luvs! Yes, we will! Yes, we will!"

After Mia put one of the Luvs diapers on him, then she showed him the three onesies she had laid out on the counter for him. "Now, Isaac, it's time to decide what to wear today!" she announced to him in her baby voice. One of the onesies was the one she'd made for him with his name stitched on it in different colors; one had a picture of a spaceship launching with a dark blue background, and the other was a yellow onesie with the picture of a smiling sun with sunglasses on it. "Do you want to wear the onesie I made you with your name on it?" she asked in baby talk. "Do you want to wear the spaceship onesie? Or do you want to wear the onesie with the sun on it?" In that instant, again, Isaac cooed. "Okay! We'll wear the sunshine onesie today! Yes, we will! Yes, we will!"

A couple of moments later, after Mia put the yellow sunshine onesie on Isaac, she came carrying him out of the bathroom. By that time, Clarisse was sitting up in bed, and Joseph was sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed.

"Oh, hi, guys!" Mia said as she walked out.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Joseph said with a smile.

"Oh, I was hoping you'd dress him in that adorable little onesie you made for him," Clarisse said, disappointed.

"Oh, he didn't want to wear that one," Mia told her.

Joseph laughed then and said, "Mia, he's just a baby! He doesn't care."

"He does so!" Mia insisted. "And he's not 'just a baby,' either! He's _our_ baby. And it's our job as his co-parents to make sure he always feels loved and respected."

Clarisse really had to stifle a laugh then because she knew Mia was _really_ going crazy over him, and it was just so darn cute! "And what makes you so sure that he wanted to wear the yellow onesie today?" she asked.

"Because when I showed it to him and asked him if he wanted to wear it, he cooed."

"I see," Clarisse responded as she once again had to fight off the urge to laugh.

"Oh, and Isaac says he wants to use the yellow rubber ducky from now on at bath-time, and that when it comes to diapers, he prefers to wear Luvs."

"And _how_ exactly did he tell you those things?" asked Joseph who, like Clarisse, was laughing _so_ hard on the inside.

"He cooed at the yellow rubber ducky, and he reached out and touched the package of Luvs. Maybe Isaac can't speak yet, but he _does_ know how to communicate with us," Mia replied. "Isn't that right, Isaac? Isn't that right? Isn't that right?" she asked him in baby talk, and once more, he looked at Mia and smiled and cooed. "See!"

Clarisse and Joseph finally gave in to the urge to laugh, and then Clarisse said, "Mia, darling, babies really don't care."

"Yes, they do. Babies may be really young, but still, it's important for us to respect their individuality. I'm not going to make Isaac wear a brand of diapers he doesn't want to wear or make him wear a onesie he doesn't want to wear or use a rubber ducky he doesn't want to use at bath-time. Isaac has his own unique style and individual tastes. And just look how happy he is!" Mia said as Isaac cooed yet again, and it was plain to see he was as happy as could be. "And _why_ is he so happy? Because I respected his individuality."

Joseph couldn't help but laugh even louder, and Clarisse rolled her eyes, and then she told her granddaughter, "Sweet, silly girl, he is happy simply because you spent some time with him, interacted with him, and made him feel loved. That's all babies really need."

Mia sat down on the side of the hospital bed with Isaac then and said, "He's really amazing, isn't he?"

"Absolutely," Clarisse said with a big smile.

"So how are you feeling this morning, Grandma?"

"Physically speaking, I've had better days, but in here," she said as she pointed to her chest, "I'm just wonderful."

"They should be bringing your medicine for you to take soon, and I know Dr. Hart's ordered some pain medication for you to take, so maybe that'll help you feel a little better," Joseph said.

"I'll be fine, darling. And besides, I'm a lot more comfortable _now_ than I was _last night!_ "

"I imagine so!" said Joseph.

"Can you believe it, guys? _We have our very own baby!_ " Mia cried out, and then once again, Isaac's cooing filled the room, and Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia just laughed.


	28. Recovery

**Chapter 28: Recovery**

When Dr. Hart came around to check on Clarisse and Isaac at about ten-thirty that morning, she and Joseph got to talking with the doctor and Mia and one of the nurses, Aden, about the delivery. And when Clarisse told them all about how she got angry at Joseph during the delivery and put him in "time out" and made him stick his nose in the corner, they completely cracked up.

"You made Grandpa stick his nose in the corner, Grandma?! Oh, my gosh! That is _hilarious!_ " Mia cried out as they all laughed, and Clarisse in particular had a really good laugh at herself.

"I don't know what came over me! Usually, I'm in control of my emotions, but last night, I was absolutely _furious_. I yelled at Joseph. I made him stick his nose in the corner in time out. At one point, I even started swearing in different languages and throwing his shoes across the room!" Again, everybody laughed.

"I think that for a woman in labor, you handled yourself remarkably well, my Queen," Dr. Hart assured her.

"So do I," Joseph agreed.

"I'd have given anything to have been there to see Grandpa with his nose in the corner!" Mia said with a laugh.

"I think we all would," said Aden, a handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, average-sized nurse.

"It really scared me, though, when Clarisse started shaking," Joseph said.

"Like I told you last night, Joseph, it's normal to have chills and get the shakes after giving birth. Right, doctor?"

"Oh, definitely. Giving birth causes some pretty major hormonal fluctuations, which among other things, can really mess around with your internal thermostat. It's normal to get chills or 'hot flashes,' so to speak, for some time after birth."

"Well, that whole experience is all behind you now, Grandma. Now, you can just relax and take it easy and recover, and Grandpa and I will take care of Isaac so you can get plenty of rest," Mia said as she started tickling Isaac's stomach as he was lying in his bassinet.

Joseph, who was sitting on the side of the bed, wrapped his arm around Clarisse's shoulders then and kissed the top of her head and said, "She's right, darling. With Mia and me around, you won't have to lift a finger for a good long while."

Clarisse laughed and said, "Don't be silly, you two. I mean, yes, obviously I _do_ need to recover from all of this, but I'm not helpless. I don't need to be waited on hand and foot."

"Oh, let them wait on you hand and foot, my dear!" Dr. Hart told her. "You're a queen, just like me, and you need to be treated like one."

"Dr. Hart, you're always saying that you're a queen. Just out of curiosity, what is it exactly that you're the queen of?" asked Aden.

"Two things, my young man. I am the Queen of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Genovia, and as my husband will tell you, I am the queen of my household."

Everybody laughed again, and then Aden said, "Got ya."

"You know, I must say, this last labor was really my easiest one. It was also my most unusual. I never experienced back labor with my first two boys. It was also really strange how the contractions in my back actually seemed to stop for a while. Believe it or not, doctor, for about an hour, I was actually able to take a nap."

"That actually does happen sometimes. In some births, once the contractions have gotten the woman fully dilated, they can actually stop for a time, allowing her to have a good rest before the pushing phase of labor begins. You were probably already fully dilated and ready to push when you and Joseph got locked in the bathroom."

"Oh, _I was_ ready to push, Dr. Hart! There's no doubt about that!" Clarisse said with a laugh, and Joseph laughed with her, recalling how she'd been yelling and throwing things and swearing in multiple languages.

Thankfully, when Clarisse and Joseph brought Isaac home from the hospital two weeks later, Clarisse was in a _much_ better mood than she'd been in the night of her labor! Dr. Hart had kept her in the hospital for the next two weeks just to be safe since she was older and her body had obviously been through a very tough ordeal. But fortunately, Clarisse Renaldi had a heart as strong as a lion, and because she'd always taken such excellent care of herself through the years, her body was incredibly healthy and strong and had endured it all amazingly well.

However, that wasn't to say that she was back at one hundred percent. She had been quite right when she'd told Joseph the night Isaac was born that it was highly inaccurate the way TV shows and movies portrayed it as though a woman went back to normal again the minute after she gave birth. In real life, recovery from childbirth was a much longer process, and especially so for Clarisse now.

It was about noon when they came home, and not long after Clarisse and Joseph went up to their suite with Isaac, the little man started crying for his lunch. He'd begun crying practically the minute Clarisse sat down on the couch.

"Oh, dear," she sighed while Joseph held him and tried to settle him down. "I think it's Mr. Isaac John Philippe Romero's lunchtime." Clarisse wanted one of his middle names to be John after Joseph, whose middle name was John, and she also wanted one of his names to be Philippe after her deceased son, obviously, so his full name was Isaac John Philippe Romero. "I'll go downstairs to the kitchen and prepare a bottle for him." Clarisse knew she could get one of the servants to do it for her, of course, but even though she'd been as involved as possible in her sons' lives, nannies had done so many things for them that she'd wanted to do herself through the years. Now, she wanted the pleasure of taking care of Isaac herself.

"Don't you dare! I want you in bed," Joseph told her.

"Don't you think it's a bit soon for that?" Clarisse teased.

"You know what I mean. I'll go downstairs and prepare the bottle. I just want you to rest now."

Clarisse laughed and said, "Joseph, I may have gone through childbirth recently, but I'm not helpless."

"As far as I'm concerned, you are. Bed, Clarisse. Now." There were _very_ few people in the world who could actually get away with giving Clarisse Renaldi the occasional order, but Joseph was one of them.

Clarisse laughed again, and then she gave him a playful salute and said, "Yes, sir!"

After Joseph fed Isaac and put him in his crib for a nap, he went into the bedchamber to check on Clarisse. He was a little disappointed to find her sitting up in bed reading. He'd been hoping she would be getting some sleep right now.

"Clarisse, you should take a nap," Joseph told her, and in fact, she really did look tired.

"Don't worry about me, Joseph. I'm fine," she insisted, but her eyes told another story.

"You've just been through a lot. You should rest," he said, continuing to press her. A moment later, he asked, "You're not in pain, are you?"

After a pause, Clarisse replied, "Let's just say that I'm as comfortable as can be expected two weeks after giving birth." Joseph knew what that meant and what she was _really_ saying. She was in pain.

"If you're hurting, you should take some of the pain medicine Dr. Hart prescribed."

"You know I hate taking pain pills. They always put me in such a fog."

"Clarisse, if you need it, you need it. Besides, I won't have you hurting and in a lot of pain. I'll go get you a glass of water, and then I'll bring your pain medicine in here to you, _and you will take it_ like a good little queen."

Clarisse really was tired and in pain and she simply did not feel like arguing with Joseph, so once again, she gave him a salute and said, "Yes, sir!"

Joseph leaned in and kissed her, and then he left. A little bit later, he came back in with her medicine and a glass of water, and Clarisse took it. It wasn't long after that that the medication knocked her out, and she had a good, long nap for the next several hours.

When she woke up again at about four o'clock that afternoon, she found that Joseph was sitting up in bed beside her on top of the covers with his shoes off, holding Isaac in his arms and playing with him.

"Hey," he whispered when he saw that she was awake.

Clarisse yawned and stretched, and then she sat up in bed too and snuggled over closer to Joseph. "Hello, darling," she said sleepily, and then almost as if on cue, Isaac let out a cry of protest, almost as if he were jealous, which made Clarisse laugh. "Hello to you too, young man," she told him with a laugh. A couple of moments later, he calmed down. Then Joseph started tickling his stomach again, which made him laugh, and Joseph and Clarisse laughed with him.

A moment later, Joseph asked, "Would you like something, my dear? Some tea perhaps?" Nobody knew better than Joseph how much his wife absolutely _adored_ a good cup of tea.

Clarisse kissed Joseph then and answered, "No thank you, love. I just want to stay right here with my two favorite gentlemen."

It was in that precise moment that little Isaac started spitting up. Thankfully, Joseph quickly grabbed a tissue off his nightstand and wiped Isaac's mouth and chin before any saliva got on his onesie.

"Your two favorite gentlemen, huh?" Joseph teased, and Clarisse chuckled.

"Don't worry, Joseph. He's just a baby. We'll make a gentleman out of him yet."

Isaac started cooing, and then Clarisse put her head down on Joseph's shoulder and touched their son's cheek. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was really going to enjoy this recovery.


	29. Soul-Searching

**Chapter 29: Soul-Searching**

Seven weeks after Clarisse and Isaac came home from the hospital, Mia had another date at Jacques's apartment – and this time, she was escorted there by Shades whether she liked it or not. It was a lovely evening in August, and Mia was sitting on the floor with Jacques watching the gorgeous sunset through his full-length apartment windows. They were having an indoor picnic dinner, and all their food was spread out on a blanket on the floor, along with a bottle of Jacques's favorite wine from his family's vineyard.

Once they were done eating and got all the dishes and everything put away, Mia said to Jacques, "Come and sit on the couch with me. I have something serious I need to talk about with you."

"Whatever you say, darling," he responded in his strong French accent, and then they went and sat down on the couch together. Once they were seated, he asked, "Now, what's on your mind? What is it that's so serious?"

"Several weeks ago on my birthday when you and I spent that whole day at the palace together with my best friend Lilly and her boyfriend Kip, she and I had a deep discussion about you."

"I see. I realize that your grandparents don't approve of me, nor does anyone else on your staff. What kind of impression did I make on your best friend? Did I do any better with Lilly at all?"

"Sorry," Mia sighed. "I'm afraid not. She doesn't like you either, because of your past reputation with the ladies. She's convinced you'll hurt me just like Nicholas did."

"I'm sorry to hear she feels that way. I know I behaved badly in the past. I know I fooled around with a lot of other women, even when I was married to Danielle, and I know how wrong I was. Frankly, I'm not surprised that none of your loved ones trust me. But _you_ know I've changed; that I'm not the same person I used to be. You know how much I care about you, and you know I'm committed to this relationship. And it's _our_ feelings that matter, no one else's."

"I realize that. I realize that our relationship is nobody else's business but ours."

"That's right."

"And while we're on this whole subject of feelings, there's something you should know."

"Uh oh. Do I have competition now? Does a prince or a king from another country want to marry you or something?" he teased, and Mia laughed.

"No, it's nothing like that. Like I just told you, on my birthday, Lilly and I had a private conversation about you, and she said some things to me that I really didn't like. However, after I did a little soul-searching, I realized that what she told me about myself really was the truth. Jacques, I…"

"What is it, my dear?" he asked kindly as he took her hand and gazed into her eyes.

"Jacques, I'm using you."

Jacques chuckled at that and told her, "I find that hard to believe."

Mia let go of his hand then, but still kept her gaze locked with his as she said, "No, Jacques, hear me out. On my birthday, Lilly told me that it was possible that after all I've been through this year with my cancer and hysterectomy and everything, I was beginning to feel insecure about my womanhood. And she said that it was possible that I was only dating you because of your looks; because having a sexy French boyfriend reassured me that I as a woman was still desirable, despite everything that's happened to me. I've been thinking about what she said an awful lot, and I've recently realized that she's right. I mean, you know I care about you, and I really enjoy all the time we spend together, but at the same time, it is true that I actually am using you because of your looks; because having a boyfriend like you helps me feel better about myself. So, I would understand if you'd want to break things off with me. I mean, I know nobody likes being used."

That actually made Jacques laugh, and in the next moment, he pulled Mia in his arms and gave her the longest kiss. "Oh, Mia, you can be so silly sometimes. Perhaps you are using me, but in the _most_ flattering way. Mia, _I'm glad_ being your boyfriend helps you feel better about yourself. I care about you a great deal, and I want to do anything I can to help you. I know you've been through so much this year, and if I can help you through the aftermath of it all in any way, then that's exactly what I want to do."

Mia smiled, and then this time, she gave him a big kiss.

Their date ended a little while later and Shades to Mia back to the palace. There were still some reporters and spectators hanging around as he walked her to the car, but after all the weeks that had passed since Elsie Kentworthy broke the story of their relationship in the press, things had really died down and had almost returned to normal for Jacques and everybody else in his apartment building.

After Shades and Mia were gone and Jacques was all alone in his apartment, he started doing some soul-searching of his own. To be perfectly honest, the only _real_ reason he had pursued a relationship with Mia in the first place was because the thought of dating the Queen of Genovia really gave his already inflated male ego a big boost. But as he'd gotten to know her over the past several weeks, whether he'd wanted to admit it or not, his feelings for her really began to change. He'd soon discovered what a generous, sensitive, and downright _beautiful_ person Mia was, on the inside and out, and although he'd tried to deny it, the fact was, she touched him very deeply.

His ex-wife and all his previous girlfriends had been women who had been around and were a lot wiser to the ways of the world than Mia was. Mia was not a fool, of course, but at the same time, even though she was now the reigning Queen of Genovia, she was still only twenty-two years-old, without very much life experience under her belt. And sometimes, that still made her rather naïve about some things. However, Mia's sweetness and innocence and goodness had really moved Jacques tonight. No one had ever been as honest with him as Mia had been before. There had been plenty of other women in the past who'd only dated him because of his looks, and he'd dated them for the same reason, but none of the other women had ever been honest enough to actually _admit it_ before, and he _certainly_ hadn't admitted it to any of them either. It was now more obvious than ever to him that Mia was truly a wonderful young woman. She was dedicated, hardworking, honest, and decent. And after their conversation tonight, Jacques realized that Mia wasn't just a toy for him to play around with; that she really did deserve much better than that, and he made up his mind that from now on, he was going to _give_ her much better than that.

Over the next several months, Jacques worked very hard to become the kind of man who was worthy of courting the young queen that Mia was. He stopped looking at or even _thinking_ about other women, and just before Christmas that year, he actually quit his job at the spa and started working full-time to help his brother Luc run his family's vineyard. He had a natural talent for math and figures, so he took over the accounting aspect of the business, and he also started helping to find new accounts and business prospects in Genovia for the vineyard as well. Even though Mia really cared about him and it didn't matter to her where he worked, he felt it would be a lot more respectable for him to have a career as a businessman rather than work in a spa. And among other things, he also started attending church with her since he knew how much her faith in Christ meant to her.

However, even though it seemed that Jacques had done a complete turnaround, Clarisse and especially Joseph weren't entirely convinced that his motives were honorable. Nothing all that shocking had turned up in the background check Shades had Lionel do on Jacques, and it hadn't really revealed anything about him that they didn't already know or that hadn't already been revealed in the press. His ex-wife, Danielle, had left him because of all of his infidelity, but again, they already knew that courtesy of Elsie Kentworthy. It was that one fact, though, that they just couldn't get out of their minds, and they couldn't help but be afraid that if things got really serious between him and Mia, he would end up doing the same thing to her that he did to his ex.

One person Jacques actually _did_ manage to win over to a certain degree, though, was Lilly. She had been gone for a couple of weeks during the Christmas and New Year holidays, and she'd taken Kip with her to meet her parents and her brother. Kip instantly hit it off with Lilly's family, and they'd had a wonderful time together. And while Clarisse and Joseph still had pretty mixed feelings about Jacques, for Mia's sake, they were polite to him when she had him come over to the palace to spend Christmas Day with them, and since it was Isaac's first Christmas, it really was a very meaningful one for Clarisse, Joseph, and Mia. There weren't any unpleasant words between Mia's grandparents and Jacques, and the family really enjoyed their Christmas together an awful lot that year. And when Lilly returned to Genovia in early January and came to the palace to visit Mia, they got to talking about their relationships. Lilly told Mia all about how well things had gone for her and Kip back home, and Mia told Lilly all about how Jacques even went so far as to change his career in order to be seen by others, by her family in particular, as being a more suitable man for her, and that really impressed her, especially when Mia told her about how much he'd really liked his former job at the spa.

"Wow," she mused. "Maybe I was wrong about Mr. Ooo-la-la after all. Giving up a job you like to join the family business and become the family accountant…he must really be serious about you."

"Yeah," Mia agreed with a smile as they walked through the palace garden together, bundled up in their coats, hats, and gloves on this cold January afternoon. "To tell you the truth, Lilly, I think things are getting serious between the two of us. Things might even be starting to get as serious between Jacques and me as they are between you and Kip."

"Maybe so. Mia, just how _do_ you feel about him? Does your heart race every time you think about him? Does the thought of not seeing him for a long period of time just tie your stomach up in knots? Do you think about him all the time and miss him when you're not together?"

"Sometimes, yes. I mean, I can't spend every waking minute thinking about Jacques because I've got an entire country to run. But I can tell you this: whenever I am with him, he does make me feel special, and less alone. And when I'm with him, it's almost as if my cares and worries that I have to deal with all the time as Queen just…melt away. My time with him does mean a lot to me."

Lilly didn't say it, but she really felt that if Mia were truly, wholeheartedly in love with Jacques, not even all her responsibilities as a queen would be enough to stop her from thinking about him and dreaming of him all the time. However, for a couple who had been dating each other only a little over six months, the waters certainly seemed to be getting deep for Mia and Jacques. Jacques especially seemed to be taking this relationship a lot more seriously these days, and in a way, she was glad to see it. Mia was her closest friend and she really wanted her to be happy now, especially after everything she'd already gone through. She really deserved some true happiness in her life now. However, there _was_ that little twinge deep down in Lilly's gut that just wouldn't go away; that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that still kept telling her that this relationship was a bad idea.


	30. That Kind of Grandma

**Note to readers:** Wow! Over 100 reviews! Just want to say thanks, guys! To **Wem** , I want to say that I answer your question about Pierre in this chapter. And to **Genovian Lass** , I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have any plans to do a flashback because I really want to make an effort to wrap this story up within just a few more chapters or so. I honestly meant for this to be a small story, and it went on for much longer than I ever intended, and I'm really ready to get it finished now. So anyway, thanks again everybody! :)

 **Chapter 30: That Kind of Grandma**

"Joseph!" Clarisse called out to her husband one morning in May, who was shaving in the bathroom. "Joseph, come out here! Quick!"

Joseph came into the living area of their suite then, with only his white undershirt and pants on with his face covered in shaving cream, and he asked, "What is it?"

Clarisse then anxiously pointed, and Joseph looked in the direction she was pointing, and in that moment, he saw it: Isaac was taking his very first steps.

"No," Joseph whispered with a big smile. "I don't believe it," he said with a laugh.

"It's happening, Joseph," Clarisse said with an excited smile of her own. "Oh, I've got to record this so Mia can watch it later!" After she said that, she quickly reached for her cell phone and began using it to make a video of his first steps. Thanks to Mia, she was now far more at ease with technology than she'd ever _dreamed_ she would be.

Despite his knee replacement, Joseph squatted down as low as he could and held out his arms to his son. "Come on, son," he told him. "Come on. Come to Daddy. You can do it."

Isaac spotted his daddy in that second and started walking towards him more quickly, but he'd started to walk faster than his little legs can handle and a couple of moments later, he tripped and went down on his little bottom.

Clarisse put her cell phone in her pocket then and knelt down to Isaac and said, "Aw. That's okay, sweetheart." After helping him back up on his feet again, she told him, "Try again, my love. Try again. Daddy's right in front of you. You're almost there."

"Come on, son," Joseph said anxiously. "You can do it."

A moment later, Isaac took another couple of steps, and then Joseph scooped him up in his arms.

"Oh, you did it!" Clarisse said aloud.

"That's my boy! You're going to be walking and running all over the palace in no time at all, aren't you, son?"

" _And_ getting into _trouble_ ," Clarisse added as she took him from Joseph's arms. And then as if on cue, little Isaac made a grab for one of his mommy's earrings. " _That's my ear, Isaac!_ " she cried out while Joseph laughed.

"He's getting into plenty of trouble already as it is," he teased.

After Clarisse managed to free her poor earlobe from Isaac's grip, she said, "He certainly didn't hesitate to get into mischief when Pierre came to visit us last week, did you, Isaac?" Isaac cooed in response.

Joseph laughed. "I'll say! He was grabbing his earlobes, his cheeks, his chin. I think he even pulled out a few strands of his hair!"

"Yes, I think Isaac did drive his older brother a little crazy during his visit, didn't you, you little rascal?" she teased, and then she kissed his cheek. "But even though it's certainly an odd situation, us having a child at our age and all, Pierre really fell in love with him."

"Yeah, they got along pretty well, didn't they?"

"Mm-hmm. Isaac managed to win him over pretty quickly, even though he was a bit of a troublemaker."

"And speaking of troublemakers, Mia's got a big date tonight with Guess Who," Joseph complained as he walked back into the bathroom to continue shaving, and Clarisse followed with Isaac on her hip.

" _Not again_ ," she groaned.

" _Again_ ," Joseph responded in the same tone.

"I know that it _looks_ like Jacques has done a turnaround. He certainly _seems_ to be behaving more responsibly than he did in the beginning, but there's just something in my gut that…I don't know, keeps sending out warning signals to me about him. She's going to get hurt, Joseph. I can just _feel_ it."

"I know," Joseph sighed. A moment later, he finished shaving and then he walked out of the bathroom.

"If it hadn't been for Mia, I think we _both_ would have gone crazy these past eleven months. She's always been right there to help us with Isaac whenever you and I needed a good rest, or just some time alone, even though she's got _so_ many other responsibilities as Queen."

"I know. She really has taken the whole co-parent thing seriously. She really has been right there for all three of us whenever we've needed her."

"Joseph, until I read those diary entries last year, I…I never _really_ understood the kind of impact it had on her, never having her father in her life…or her grandparents. The consequences of this kind of life caused her so much pain as she was growing up. Until then, I never _really_ took that into consideration the way I should have. And then when she was diagnosed with cancer…"

"I know, sweetheart," Joseph said warmly. "I know our girl has really been through a lot, and we _certainly_ don't want her to have to go through any more pain than she's already endured in her young life, but we have to face facts. You and I have done everything we can do. We've warned her plenty of times about Jacques, and if she chooses not to listen to us, then there's nothing else you or I can do. This is one of those situations where we're just going to have to let go and let God."

"You're right, of course," Clarisse admitted as she put Isaac down, and then he crawled over to his blue stuffed teddy bear that was sitting on the coffee table, picked it up, and made a chew toy out of it. "I guess it's just hard for me because Mia reminds me so much of myself when I was younger," Clarisse told Joseph. "Oh, I was _so_ naïve, Joseph! I came into the palace at age eighteen, thinking that I was going to marry my Prince Charming, be crowned Queen, have this beautiful, loving marriage, have a family, and live happily ever after. I just _blindly_ assumed that Rupert and I would fall in love with each other and have this happy, perfect royal life. I never imagined that my husband would always be far more interested in Genovian politics than he ever would be in me, or in our children. I had to find out the hard way just how hard and painful royal life can really be sometimes. And now, Mia's being every bit as naïve as I used to be, _and_ every bit as _stubborn_."

"Sometimes, Clarisse my dear, finding out the hard way is in fact the _only_ way to learn," Joseph said to her, and then he walked into their closet and got out one of his usual black shirts and put it on.

"I know," Clarisse sighed, and then Joseph walked up to her, put his arms around her, and gave her a long kiss.

"It'll be alright, love. It'll be alright," he tried to reassure her.

"I hope so," Clarisse said quietly, and then Joseph kissed her again.

Unfortunately for Mia, her grandparents' predictions proved to be painfully accurate. Even though Jacques went as far as to change his career, and made other significant changes in his life as well, sadly, they just didn't stick, as Clarisse would soon discover later on that night.

At about nine-thirty that evening, Mia came back from her date with Jacques – leaning on Shades, limping with a right ankle swollen to about twice its normal size, in tears.

As Clarisse saw Mia leaning on Shades while he was walking with her down the hallway, helping her to her suite, she asked, "Mia, what happened?!"

"Her Majesty ran down the steps of Mr. Jacques's apartment building too quickly, and she twisted her ankle and fell," Shades explained.

Clarisse could take one look at her granddaughter in that moment, though, and tell that she was crying because of a lot more besides the pain of a twisted ankle. She just _knew_ that that _jerk_ had done something to hurt her, and she knew Mia really needed another woman to talk to right now, so she told Shades, "I'll take over from here."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Shades responded, and then he stepped aside and Clarisse put her arm around Mia so she could lean on her instead.

A moment later, after Shades left, Clarisse helped Mia inside and onto her bed. Once Mia was lying down with her shoes off, Clarisse put a pillow under her ankle for her.

"How does that feel, darling?"

"Better. Thanks, Grandma," Mia told her quietly. But Clarisse could see it in her face that she was really _not_ feeling better _at all._

In that moment, Clarisse sat down on the side of Mia's bed and told her honestly, "Mia, I know that I haven't always been there for you the way I should have been. When in your diary, you talked about how you hated it that I was never the kind of grandmother you could really open up to and that I wasn't there to provide a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on when you needed it, you were absolutely right. I'm deeply ashamed to have to admit this to you, but the sad fact of the matter is, in the past, I was often far more concerned with how well you performed as a royal than I was about _you_ , and I am so, _so_ sorry for that. It should _not_ have taken a battle with cancer to make me willing to tell you how much I love you and how proud I have _always_ been of you. As a grandma, I really did take you for granted so much of the time because I was so busy being the Queen. I never truly began to appreciate just how much you meant to me until you got sick, and that was _so_ wrong of me. And I am _so_ sorry.

"But darling, I'm not like that anymore. Ever since you got sick last year, as a grandmother, my priorities changed a great deal; _I_ changed a great deal. I know I wasn't there for you the way I should have been before, but _I want to be there for you now._ I want to start being the kind of grandma you can talk to when you need a listening ear. I want to be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on. Talk to me, sweetheart. Let me be that kind of grandma to you now. Please."

Mia let out a frustrated sigh and said, "I just don't want to hear a bunch of 'I told you so's."

"I'm _not_ going to say, 'I told you so.' Just tell me what's wrong."

"Things really seemed to be getting serious between Jacques and me these past couple of months or so, and as we were sitting around talking tonight, I asked him how he felt about us getting married one day."

"I see. And how did he respond?"

"It was _then_ that he chose to tell me that his ex-wife came into town a few weeks ago. Long story short, they spent the night together and now she's pregnant, so they're getting back together," Mia explained as silent tears came to her eyes.

"Oh, my love, I am _so_ sorry. I really am."

Mia laughed bitterly then and said, "The luck I have with men is truly unbelievable. _Every single guy_ I have _ever_ been in a relationship with has ended up choosing something or somebody else over me in the end, even my own father. Dad chose Genovia over me. Michael chose his band over me. Nicholas chose another girl over me. And now Jacques is choosing his ex-wife over me. Will you _please_ tell me what it is that makes me so unlovable to men? That makes it _so hard_ for a man to _ever_ choose me?"

After hearing her granddaughter say that, it was now Clarisse who was in tears. "Your father _wanted_ to choose you, Mia," she said through her tears. "It broke his heart that he wasn't able to be a part of your life when you were growing up."

"Oh, _really?_ " Mia asked with angry sarcasm. "Then _why_ , in the _one_ letter that he bothered to write to me in my entire life, couldn't he _tell me so?!_ There were _so many things_ I _really_ needed to hear him say, and when I found his letter to me in my diary, I had _so_ hoped that I would find that he had said all those things to me that I'd needed to hear all my life. But he didn't say _one_ thing that I really needed to hear! Not one!"

"What was it you needed to hear?" Clarisse asked softly.

"I needed him to say how sorry he was for never being there. I needed him to tell me how much he regretted never being in my life. _I needed him to tell me how much I'd always mattered to him!_ I needed him to tell me how much he'd always missed me every single day. _And I needed him to tell me how much he loved me!_ He tells me in that letter that he always loved Mom very much, but I guess it was just too much trouble for him to love _me_ too, and _to tell me that he loved me too!_ I mean, I _am_ glad that he never stopped loving Mom, _but he should have told me he loved me too! He should not have left me out!_ "

More tears filled Clarisse's eyes. Mia had shown Philippe's letter to her years ago, and when she'd read it for herself, she'd believed at first that it was a lovely letter for a father to write to his daughter. Now, though, she saw things much more clearly. Now, she was _much_ more keenly aware of just how deeply her father's absence from her life had hurt her. And now that she thought about it, it really made sense that for Mia, that letter would actually feel like a pretty big slap in her face. In fact, _it was_ a big slap in Mia's face for Philippe to tell Mia that he'd always loved Helen, but then for him to leave Mia out and not tell her he loved her too in the _only_ letter he'd ever written to her. And it was an equally big slap in Mia's face for him not to bother to tell her how much he'd always missed her and regretted never being in her life. _Of course she would need to hear him say that!_

"Oh my dear, _I promise you_ , Philippe _did_ love you. So, _so_ much. He thought about you every single day, every single _moment_ of every single day, and he missed you more than words can describe."

"Then _why didn't he say it?!_ "

"Because he was his father's son," Clarisse told Mia in a frustrated sigh. "Mia, your grandfather and your father were both good men, but when it came to understanding the heart of a young woman, they were both hopelessly clueless, like a lot of men are. Your grandfather never really expressed his emotions, his love, the way he should have, and your father was so much like him in a lot of ways. Like your Grandfather Rupert, your father never really _thought_ to say the things that _should_ have been said."

"He could think to tell me he loved Mom."

"My sweet girl, _I know_ it was terrible and hurtful and _just plain wrong_ for your father to leave you out the way that he did in his letter to you. You are absolutely right. _He should_ have told you how much he always loved you, and how deeply he always missed you and wanted you in his life. It _was_ a pretty big slap in your face for your father to tell you how much he always loved your mother, and for him not to tell you how much he always loved you, too. I know that has hurt you, and I'm so sorry. I'm sorry your father didn't tell you the things you needed to hear so badly, _and deserved to hear._ I don't know everything that was going through your father's head when he wrote you that letter, _but I do know_ that he _did not_ leave you out because he didn't love you. And I want you to know that choosing Genovia over you was a decision that truly did break his heart. He wanted so much to be a part of your life. I know you're hurt and angry right now and you probably don't believe me at the moment, but it is true. _He never_ wanted to hurt you. _He never_ wanted things to be like this, and neither did I, and I can't tell you how sorry I am that things turned out this way and that you were put through so much pain.

"As for all your other relationships, Nicholas and Jacques were both idiots and they were _both_ too blind and too stupid to truly be able to appreciate you. And I know it hurt you when Michael broke up with you to go on that tour with his band, but that didn't happen because there was anything wrong with you. It happened because, for one thing, you were both too young, and for another, you were never really in love with each other. You told me that yourself."

"I know," Mia sighed.

"I know you're in a lot of pain right now, sweetheart. I know it feels like your whole life has been nothing but one great big rejection by others, but _please_ hear me when I tell you that there is _nothing_ wrong with you. You are sweet and loving and generous and intelligent and sensitive, and just downright _beautiful_. You haven't had the luck you've had with men because you're flawed in any way, but rather, because you haven't been going out with the _right_ man."

"There _is_ no 'right man,' Grandma. Not for me. After tonight, I realize that now. And you know what? _I am done._ This whole thing with Jacques has really taught me an important lesson. My heart really can't take the emotional roller coaster of dating; not anymore, so I'm done with it. My heart's taken enough blows as it is for one lifetime already. Enough is enough."

After going through her whole childhood believing that her own father didn't love her or want her, and after enduring everything the press had put her through ever since she first found out she was really a princess, and after having the responsibilities of ruling an entire nation put on her shoulders, _and_ after going through cancer and losing her ability to have children in the process, Clarisse could hardly blame Mia for saying that. For someone who was only twenty-two, she'd already been through so much more than most people could even _begin_ to imagine.

"I know, my dear," Clarisse said kindly as she took Mia's hand and gave it a loving squeeze. "I know your heart has been through a lot. It's understandable that it would need to rest a while after going through an experience like this. But please, don't give up on love entirely. Just…take a break for a while. Give yourself some time to heal."

"I'm sorry, Grandma, but I've had it. I really have. I can't take this sort of thing anymore."

After a pause, Clarisse suggested, "Why don't I go downstairs and get some ice for that ankle? And maybe a nice bowl of ice cream to ease the pain?"

Mia wiped her eyes and smiled at the suggestion, and then she responded, "Okay, sure. I don't want my ankle to swell up even more than it already has, and you know I can never say no to ice cream."

Clarisse returned the smile and gave Mia a big hug and said, "I'll be right back."

A couple of moments after she got up and started walking out, Mia said, "Grandma?"

Clarisse turned around then and said, "Yes, dear?"

"Thanks for saying there's nothing wrong with me."

That really touched Clarisse, and she told her, "I only spoke the truth."

"And thanks for being 'that kind of grandma.'"

Clarisse was really furious at herself deep down inside, because she knew she should have been "that kind of grandma" all along, but she was more determined than ever now to make up for lost time.

"You don't have to thank me, Mia," she told her as she fought off more tears. " _I love you._ "

Mia responded, "I love you, too."


	31. Electricity

**Chapter 31: Electricity**

It was around a month after Mia and Jacques broke up that everyone in the palace was getting ready to celebrate Mia's twenty-third birthday, and Isaac's first. Isaac's party was scheduled to take place during the afternoon, and it was basically going to be everything a person would expect at a child's first birthday party. There was going to be plenty of birthday cake, presents, balloons, and games for all the little children attending to play, and a clown to entertain them as well. Then in the evening hours, the annual birthday ball for Queen Mia would begin.

And since the next day was obviously going to be so busy for everyone, Clarisse and Joseph put Isaac to bed early and went to bed early themselves. They fell asleep soon enough, but then at about eleven o'clock that night, all three of them were awakened by a loud clap of thunder, and as soon as the thunder began, Isaac started crying his eyes out. Thunderstorms had always really frightened him, and the instant Clarisse and Joseph heard the storm, they darted up out of bed and hurried into Isaac's nursery.

Joseph instantly flipped the lights on, and when he did, both he and Clarisse saw Isaac standing up in his crib, crying and reaching out for them. Clarisse got to him first and scooped him up in her arms and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's okay," she told him. "It's alright, my love. Mommy and Daddy are right here. There's nothing to be afraid of." In that next moment, Clarisse hugged him and held him even closer to her.

Joseph put his hand on Isaac's back then and said, "It's alright, son. It's alright. We're right here with you. We're not going to let all that old thunder and lightning hurt you."

"Of course we're not," Clarisse said with a loving laugh. "We wouldn't let that old thunderstorm hurt you for anything in the world."

A couple of moments later, Clarisse and Joseph went over to the big blue rocking chair with Isaac, which was wide enough for both of them to sit in together, and as Clarisse held him in her lap, they both rocked with him a good while. Rocking Isaac and talking to him was usually all he needed to be able to settle down enough to go back to sleep whenever a thunderstorm woke him up and scared him.

"Everything's going to be alright, son," Joseph reassured him in his calm, deep voice, and then he kissed the top of his head. "Everything's going to be just fine."

"Don't be afraid, darling," Clarisse said to him softly. "Mommy's right here, and Daddy's here, too. It's alright."

After Clarisse and Joseph rocked together with him in the rocking chair for the next couple of minutes or so, Mia came in.

"Hi, guys," she said. "Is Isaac okay? I know how thunderstorms always scare him."

"He's fine, my dear," Clarisse responded. "He's calmer now."

Mia stroked his blonde head then and said, "Good. I'm glad to hear it. I just hate it when he's all scared and upset and crying."

"He'll be alright. I think we can put him back to bed shortly. He's getting over it now," Joseph told Mia, and he was quite right. Isaac had calmed down a good bit ever since he and Clarisse had come to the rescue a few minutes ago.

"You guys want me to take him to my suite for a while and sit up with him?" Another room had been added to Mia's suite some time ago that was a second nursery for Isaac, and the door leading to it was beside Mia's bed. There was a crib, playpen, baby swing, rocking chair, and _tons_ of baby toys in there for Isaac to play with whenever he spent the night in Mia's suite.

"I appreciate that, Mia. That's very kind of you, but it's really not necessary. I think Isaac's going to be alright now, and besides, you're going to need all the rest you can get for tomorrow. It's a very big day, after all," Clarisse reminded her.

"It's a big day for all of us, even more so for you guys than for me. Tomorrow's Isaac's very first birthday _ever._ Me? I've already had plenty of birthdays."

"Now you just hold on a minute, young lady. Your birthday is just as big an event tomorrow as Isaac's is," Clarisse lovingly scolded her. "Your birthday is equally important and special." Clarisse didn't say so, but ever since Mia's battle with cancer the year before, Mia's birthdays now meant more to her than ever, and to Joseph as well.

Mia smiled and said, "That's a sweet thing to say, Grandma. Well, if you guys don't need me, then I guess I'll go back to bed."

"Goodnight, my dear," Joseph told her.

"Sweet dreams, Mia," said Clarisse.

"Goodnight, guys," Mia said, and then she went back to her own suite.

The next day was obviously a very busy one for everybody in the palace. Everyone had a great time at Isaac's first birthday party and especially all the little children who were invited, and then later on that evening, Mia's birthday ball was also a big success. As usual, politicians, diplomats, and celebrities from all over the world showed up, and so did Lilly and Kip, who had recently gotten engaged. And unlike last year, Clarisse and Joseph were able to attend as well, and as they both watched their beautiful granddaughter in her long, flowing light blue evening gown and sparkling tiara that night, the grandparents couldn't possibly have been any prouder. It was tough for Mia to put a fake smile on her face that night and pretend she wasn't still hurting over what Jacques had done to her, but after two years on the throne now, she'd gotten a lot better at hiding her true feelings whenever necessary. And the truth was, having her best friend and her grandparents there with her to celebrate her birthday was a big help and it did make her rather happy, despite all the heartache she was still feeling.

Eight weeks later, Mia was still brokenhearted, and she was throwing herself into her work and duties as Queen like she never had before, which was not something that went unnoticed by her grandparents or by anyone in the palace. Clarisse and Joseph could easily tell that Mia was only working so hard because she was trying to forget all her pain. In the past, the royal-duty-obsessed Clarisse would have been thrilled to see Mia pouring her mind, heart, and soul into her role practically twenty-four-seven, but now that she had become more interested in being a grandma than in being a queen, it worried her. Clarisse well knew it by now that one of the biggest mistakes she'd made when she'd been on the throne was that she'd often put her royal position before her relationships with her family, and that she'd never really allowed herself to have very much of a life beyond being Queen of Genovia. The last thing she wanted now was to see her granddaughter make the same mistakes she'd made. Clarisse knew better than anyone that Mia needed to have more in her life besides just her role as Queen.

That was why both she and Joseph were quite relieved when Andrew decided to leave the Royal Air Force that August and accepted a position as a professor of anthropology at Pyrus University. Clarisse and Joseph knew that there was nothing between Mia and Andrew romantically speaking, but they did notice that when he moved to Genovia and began teaching at Pyrus University, Mia did invite him over to the palace for visits a good bit. And they were quite happy that at the very least, Mia had someone as knowledgeable about politics, diplomacy, and international matters as Andrew for a friend that she could talk to. Even if they weren't in a romantic relationship, Andrew was still a good source of companionship for Mia that Clarisse and Joseph knew she needed.

It was now the end of August and as Andrew walked through the palace garden with Mia one afternoon, they got to talking about his recent move.

"So, are you looking forward to teaching at Pyrus University?" she asked him.

"Oh, very much so," he replied. _And to spending more time with you_ , he said to himself inwardly. Little did anyone know that even though Andrew hadn't had any kind of feelings for Mia in the beginning during his engagement to her, his feelings towards her had long since changed. Ever since Mia's battle with cancer about a year and a half ago – and ever since her confrontation with Mabrey – Andrew had fallen head over heels in love with her.

"I'm really happy you'll be living in Genovia now. I've missed you a lot," Mia told him, and she meant it. Mia had no clue that Andrew's feelings for her had changed. She was not head over heels in love with Andrew the way he was with her now, but she still cared about him a great deal. He was a kind, thoughtful, easygoing guy and a wonderful friend. Despite the fact that their engagement to each other had _not_ gone very well at all, they had still become close friends, and Mia was actually much more like family to Andrew than his own parents were. Andrew's adopted parents had never really put much time or effort into their relationship with him, and the cold hard fact was, they really didn't even _know_ him. But even though things hadn't worked out in their engagement, Mia had still taken the time to really get to know Andrew over the past couple of years they'd known each other, and to her, Andrew was almost like the big brother she'd never had.

 _I've missed you even more_ , Andrew said to himself.

Both Mia and Andrew had made their share of mistakes during their engagement to each other, but now, it was as if the scales had been removed from his eyes and he could now _finally_ see what a treasure was right in front of him. He'd come to realize ever since Mia's battle with cancer that she was in fact a great deal stronger than he'd given her credit for, and he _loved_ that. He loved her strength and her feistiness, and the way those characteristics were perfectly balanced out with her enormous, tender heart. He loved her laugh. He loved her smile. He loved it that in spite of the fact that she was a queen, she still wore her heart on her sleeve and allowed herself to cry when she needed to. He loved her _so_ much, and as he watched Mia's beautiful brunette hair just glisten in the light of the sun that afternoon in the garden, and as he looked into her gorgeous face and even more gorgeous brown eyes, he wanted to kiss her _so_ badly.

But of course, he couldn't give in to that desire. He knew he should probably tell Mia how he felt, but at the same time, he also knew how much she was still hurting over what Jacques had done to her, and he could really sense it that now was _not_ the right time to be making any declarations of love to her. Andrew knew she simply wasn't ready for it yet, and the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off.

"That's a kind thing to say," Andrew told her with a smile, obviously holding back much of the flood of emotions that was going on inside him now.

"It's true," Mia said, returning the smile. "It's really awesome to have a friend to talk to and spend a little time with. I mean, Lilly's living in Genovia now, too, but it's also really great to have a guy friend around, and a friend who understands as much about politics as you do."

"I understand."

"I've got to tell you, Andrew, being a queen is _so_ frustrating sometimes! I had to fight like crazy to get the maternity bill passed through Parliament last year because of Mabrey. Now, Prime Minister Motaz and I are pushing for further legislation to be passed through Parliament that would ensure that women in Genovia would _finally_ begin receiving equal salaries with their male counterparts in the workplace, and several of Mabrey's old cronies that are still in Parliament are giving us a lot of grief over it and are campaigning to block our efforts. You know, I had all these ideas of what my life was going to be like once I became Queen of Genovia. I was going to make all these changes for the better. I was going to make _such_ a big difference in Genovia, maybe even the world. I had no idea how hard it would really be at times."

"Well the important thing is, you're trying. That's more than a lot of people can say."

"I know."

"Hang in there, love. It'll be alright."

"I'm trying to," Mia sighed. "I'm just not particularly looking forward to this next week. _I know_ all my sessions with Parliament are going to just stress the heck out of me for one thing, and for another, I have another round of tests to look forward to with Dr. Mackenzie."

Hearing Mia say that really made Andrew's heart race with fear. "There's nothing wrong, is there?" he asked worriedly.

Mia quickly shook her head and responded, "No, no. Everything is fine. It's just routine testing my doctors do every few months or so, just to make certain my cancer hasn't made a comeback."

"Oh yes, that's right. You've told me about that before."

"Yeah. Even though my cancer was in the very early stages when they caught it, Dr. Mackenzie and his colleagues are still overly cautious."

"Well I'd much rather them be too cautious than not cautious enough."

Mia smiled and said, "You sound like Grandma and Grandpa. Personally, I hate it when it's time for all the tests. They're such a drag. But, of course, I do understand why they have to do it."

"Well it's only for one day. You'll get through it."

"I know I will."

"I tell you what. I can be there with you when you have to have your tests done next week, for moral support and all."

"That's really sweet, Andrew. I appreciate that, but Grandma and Grandpa are planning on being there with me. Every time I have to have my tests done and have a checkup with my doctor, they always insist on being there, especially Grandma. I think Grandma's always so determined to be there because she doesn't trust me to tell her the truth about what the doctors say to me. I kept it to myself when I was first diagnosed with cancer, and I think that really upset her, so now, she wants to make absolutely certain she knows about everything that's going on with my health."

"I can't really blame her for that. I won't lie to you, Mia. When I first found out that you had cancer, it scared the living daylights out of me. I think it scared us all half to death. Sometimes, I think you tend to underestimate just how much you mean to all of us."

Again, Mia smiled, and she said, "Perhaps I do. But thanks for reminding me. It always does the heart a lot of good to be reminded that you mean a lot to the people around you."

Andrew took Mia's hand then and gave it a squeeze, and then he looked into her eyes and said, "Mia, you mean more to us than I think you'll ever truly know."

"Thank you," Mia said, and then Andrew let go of her hand and they continued on their stroll through the palace garden. As they prattled on about other things through the rest of their walk, though, Andrew simply couldn't get his mind off the near feeling of electricity flowing through his veins that he'd experienced merely by touching Mia's hand.


	32. The Cost of Ruling

**Note to readers:** First of all, thank you all again for your support! :) Second, I imagine that there will be some of you who will be disappointed about this, but I feel it's necessary to skip ahead several years, which I do in this chapter. I know a lot of you probably wanted more baby scenes with Clarisse, Joseph, and Isaac, and if I'm disappointing you, then I'm very sorry. However, I do feel it's necessary in order to keep the plot moving and accomplish everything that I want to get done in this story. And **yes** , I am very well aware of how much you guys want Mia to end up with Andrew. I don't want to give any of the future storyline away, but I will say this much: hang in there. ***Wink***

 **Chapter 32: The Cost of Ruling**

Over the course of the next six years, very little changed between Mia and Andrew. Although Andrew hadn't accepted the position as a professor at Pyrus University and moved to Genovia believing that Mia would fall in love with him and eventually marry him, he had in fact accepted it because she was the closest thing to true family he'd ever had, and he _did_ want to be closer to her. But even so, way deep down, he really had hoped that things would change between them one day and that Mia would come to see him as more than just a friend. He'd believed that Mia's broken heart would mend with a little time and that he would one day be able to confess his true feelings for her.

But unfortunately, that never happened. As Mia had told her grandmother just after her last boyfriend, Jacques, dumped her and went back to his ex-wife, she had constantly been rejected her whole life by _every_ man she'd ever been in any kind of a relationship with, even her own father. And after what Jacques had done to her, Mia was sick and tired of taking chances with her heart, putting her heart on the line, and it only getting shattered in the end. As she'd confessed to Andrew and to her grandparents time and again over the years, her heart simply couldn't take it anymore. Her heart had _more_ than had enough, and she had decided years ago that she was going to remain a single woman, much to the dismay of everyone around her, especially Clarisse, Joseph, and Andrew.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Mia told Clarisse one September afternoon as they were drinking tea together in the palace garden. "Look at Queen Elizabeth I. Many people say she was the greatest monarch in England's history. She never needed a husband. And neither do I."

"Darling, this has nothing to do with your performance as Queen. You are a _wonderful_ Queen of Genovia, and you certainly don't need a husband in order to remain a wonderful ruler. It's just that I don't want you to be lonely. I want you to have love and companionship in your life. And unlike your grandmother, I want you to actually _have a life_ besides just being Queen of Genovia."

"Well… _I do_ have love and companionship in my life. I may not have the kind of companionship a husband can provide, but I do have other sources of companionship. I have my friends, Lilly and Kip and their little girl." Lilly and Kip had gotten married about six years ago, and had just had their first child, their daughter Jessica, last year. "I have Andrew," Mia continued. "I have you, Grandpa, and Isaac. I have my cats. And most importantly, I have my relationship with Jesus. Romantic love isn't the only source of love in a person's life, you know. I get love from a lot of other sources. And besides, I'm an independent, modern woman. I don't need a man in order to be fulfilled and happy."

"Of course you don't, and please believe me, my love, when I tell you that I am _very_ proud of you. It's just that Joseph and I have been so incredibly happy together these past eight years. He and I are still so much in love, and it is _such_ a remarkable feeling. And I want you to experience the same kind of joy and happiness that the two of us have together. And _I do_ want you to start having a life of your own beyond just your title and your duties. You're as bad as I was when I was Queen. Back when I was on the throne, I was nothing but the Queen of Genovia twenty-four-seven. I want more than that for you."

As Mia thought about it in that moment, she realized that now was really the perfect moment to spring the news on her grandmother, so she decided to tell her what had been on her mind for months now. "Actually, Grandma, if things go according to plan…I _will_ have a lot more going on in my life besides my role as Queen in the very near future."

That really sparked Clarisse's interest. "Go on," Clarisse told her.

"I've been thinking and praying long and hard about this for about a year or so, and I've finally decided that it's time for me to start seriously thinking about children."

"Children?"

"I know; I know. I'm not married, but there are tons of single people out there who adopt and go on to be great parents. And I know there are a lot of older children who need good homes and families, who haven't gotten adopted yet because almost everybody wants to adopt babies instead. I mean, on the one hand, I've been kind of afraid about going into this because we both know better than anyone how hard life as a royal can really be, and I've been concerned that it would be unfair to bring a child into this kind of life. But then again, life is _always_ hard in this world for _everybody_ , regardless if you're royal or not."

"That's very true. And even though it will be challenging for both you and your future child, there will still be so many advantages you can give to him, or to her. You can give your child the highest quality education. You can provide your child with the very best of everything. I know the press will most likely go out of their way to make things as difficult as possible just like they always do, but we'll deal with that together, as a family. We'll get extra security. We'll do whatever it takes, but we _will_ make certain this child is protected from the media at all times. And just think: with Isaac around, your little one will have an automatic playmate to grow up with."

"Yeah, that's true!" Mia said as they both laughed. "As I've thought about it this past year, I've come to the same conclusions. I know it won't always be easy, but thanks to you and Grandpa and Marjorie and Shades and everybody else here in the palace, I have the best support system anyone could ever ask for. And even though I know it'll be challenging for my child at times, I also know I can be a good mother and give him or her a very happy life here."

"Oh Mia, you have no idea how happy this makes me. Oh my dear, you're going to be a _remarkable_ mother."

Mia's face really lit up at the big vote of confidence from her grandmother. "You think so?"

"I _know_ so! I've been watching you with Isaac these past seven years. You've always taken such good care of him whenever Joseph and I needed you to take over for us for a little while. You've always been right there for him. He adores you."

"I adore him, too. And, yeah, I guess having seven years of experience as a co-parent will probably really come in handy when I adopt."

"Of course it will. So when are you going to get started on all of this?"

"I'm going to the children's home in Libbet in a couple of weeks to speak with the social workers there and meet some of the children and get the paperwork and the whole process started," Mia explained. She'd had their family's second home, their castle in Libbet, converted into a children's home shortly after she'd ascended the throne. It was supposed to be a temporary home for them at first until they found a place of their own, but since the children did so well there, Mia decided in the end that their temporary home should in fact be a permanent one. "Hey, why don't you come with me?"

"I'd love to," Clarisse said, and she meant it with all her heart. Just as Mia had been so involved and supportive throughout her pregnancy with Isaac, Clarisse now wanted to be equally involved and supportive in Mia's journey to becoming a mother.

Clarisse enjoyed the rest of her tea with Mia that afternoon, and then later that evening, shortly before it was time to eat dinner, she went upstairs to her suite to change out of her designer dress and high heels into some more comfortable clothes and shoes for the evening.

Right after his mother went upstairs, Isaac, who was now a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed seven-year-old, and as mischievous as ever, marched right up to his dad, who was having a conversation with Shades in Mia's office, and said to him in a _loud_ voice, "Hi, Joey!"

Even though it was half past after five in the evening, as usual these days, Mia was staying a little late in her office working on her usual mountain of paperwork, and the moment she heard Isaac call Joseph "Joey," it was enough to make Mia stop what she was doing and quickly cover her mouth so that Joseph wouldn't hear her laugh and snicker. Shades had to do the same thing.

"Young man…you want to rephrase that?" Joseph asked in _what sounded like_ an angry tone of voice, but Isaac knew his dad well enough by now to be able to see behind the tough exterior he liked to display to the rest of the world. He knew better than anyone how gentle and loving his dad really was, and that he could, in fact, take a joke.

"Sorry, Dad," Isaac responded, _pretending_ to be remorseful.

"That's better," said Joseph, knowing perfectly well that his _very mischievous son_ was _really_ about to go in for the kill.

"I meant to say Baldy Joey!" Isaac announced, right at the very instant Mia picked up the glass of water on her desk and took a sip from it. Naturally when he said that, she ended up laughing and accidentally squirting a bit of water through her nose. And it was all Shades could do to keep all of his inner laughter suppressed as well.

"That's it! I'm going to get you!" Joseph said aloud, and without further ado, knee replacement or no knee replacement, he was instantly tearing through the palace, chasing after Isaac, and the moment he chased Isaac out of Mia's office, both Mia and Shades allowed themselves to laugh out loud.

Several minutes later, Joseph chased Isaac upstairs and into their suite, and just as Clarisse came out of the bathroom in a more casual white blouse and tan slacks and a much more comfortable pair of shoes, her husband and her son came bursting through the suite, practically like a hurricane, until Isaac finally ended up lying on his back on his parents' bed with Joseph giving him a tickle torture. Clarisse watched them for the next few minutes, laughed to herself, and shook her head at their typical crazy antics.

Finally, she clapped her hands, much like a schoolteacher calling a rowdy classroom to order, and she said, "Alright, boys. Alright. That's enough."

Joseph stopped his tickle torture of Isaac then and got up off the bed, and in the next moment, he turned around and pretended to be angry as he folded his arms. "And just _who_ are you calling _boys_?" he asked Clarisse in a mock-angry tone of voice.

Clarisse responded by putting her hands on her hips and telling her husband honestly, " _You two_ , that's who."

"Clarisse, I will have you know that Isaac and I are two perfectly mature men, thank you very much."

" _Yeah!_ " Isaac cried out as he stood next to his dad and folded his arms, too, which only made Clarisse want to laugh even harder than she already was inside.

"And now if you will excuse Isaac and me, we are going to go and bask in all of our masculine macho male mature manliness."

" _Yeah!_ " Isaac said aloud as he followed his dad out of his parents' bedchamber, marching right behind him, with both their noses turned playfully up in the air while Clarisse rolled her eyes at all their typical silliness. Scenes like that happened between Joseph and Isaac _constantly_. They were _always_ goofing around with each other, and even though Clarisse liked to pretend that she preferred things to be more proper and orderly, the truth was, deep down, she really loved watching all the mischief they got into together.

Once they were all in the living area a little while later, Clarisse said, "Isaac, I'm sure that dinner's ready downstairs now and that Mia's probably already started eating. Why don't you go down and join her? Your father and I will be down in a minute."

"Okay, Mom," Isaac said, and then he left.

After Clarisse was alone with Joseph, she told him all about Mia's big announcement that she was planning to start looking into adopting a child.

"I think that's wonderful," Joseph told her.

"So do I."

"However, I do have reservations. I mean, I know Mia's going to be an incredible mother and that the child she adopts will be extremely blessed to have her. It's just that it's hard enough to be a single parent in this world when you're not a ruler with the responsibilities of governing an entire nation on your shoulders. I hate to sound old-fashioned, but in Mia's case, I really do wish that she would have gotten married first before she decided to look into adoption. I wish she had a husband to support her through all of this. I think raising a child as a single parent _and_ running a country at the same time is too much of a burden to put on anyone's shoulders."

"I think that's where you and I come in."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with being a little old-fashioned, and personally, I think it is better for a child to have both a mother _and_ a father. And, yes, I too had hoped that Mia would have gotten over what Jacques did to her long before now. But the fact of the matter is, she hasn't and she may never will. Mia may never change her mind about remaining single, and let's just be painfully honest with ourselves and with each other for a moment, Joseph. You know as well as I do that the cold, hard fact is, most marriages do not end up as strong, beautiful, healthy, and happy as ours has always been. Half of all today's marriages end in divorce, and of the half that don't end, many of those are still unhappy. Perhaps it really is wiser and safer for Mia psychologically speaking to protect her heart and remain single. And even though a child having both a mother and a father is the most preferable option, I think that as long as there's a good man there to be a father figure for Mia's child, that could be a good thing as well."

"You're talking about me?"

"Yes, Joseph, I'm talking about you. About _both_ of us. All throughout my pregnancy with Isaac, Mia was right there, even after she'd gone through a hysterectomy herself. And right from the moment Isaac was born, Mia has been there for all three of us every step of the way, despite the fact that she was going through so much heartache inside. Mia really has become like a third parent to Isaac, and you know as well as I do that there were many times along the way where we both would have gone out of our minds had it not been for all of Mia's help. Now it's _our_ turn to give. Now, it's only fair that we be the co-parents for Mia's child and do everything we can to help and support her."

Joseph nodded and said, "I know, dear. I know. And you're absolutely right. I would be proud to be a father figure for Mia's child, and I would consider it an honor to be there for her the way she's always been there for us. I just wish she hadn't given up on love. I just wish she could find the same kind of happiness that you and I have."

It was now Clarisse's turn to nod as she said, "I feel the same way. I really wish Mia hadn't shut off her heart and withdrawn into herself and into her work the way she did after Jacques broke her heart, but as a former ruler myself, I understand better than anyone _why_ she did it. I may have nagged at Mia again about getting married when we had tea together earlier, and it is true that I so badly want Mia to find what we have, but at the same time, I also understand why it's so hard for Mia to try one more time to find love. The trouble with today's world is that romantic relationships are never taken very seriously anymore. So many people just move on from one romance to the next without even batting an eye, but Mia can't do that. When a boyfriend cheats on her with another woman or breaks up with her for some other reason and she gets rejected, it really does a lot of damage to her self-esteem inside, and it's not very easy for her to recover. I think that after what happened with Jacques, Mia realized that there was only so much that her heart could take. If Mia let another young man into her heart and he did to her what Jacques or Nicholas did, it would do even more damage to her still, and take it from someone who knows, Joseph. You can't be a very capable ruler if you're too brokenhearted and damaged inside to rule. Rulers don't have the luxury of being able to just go from one relationship to the next until they just happen to stumble upon Mr. Right. A queen _must_ be careful to keep her heart protected so that it doesn't get too damaged for her to be able to do her job. Sometimes, Joseph, the cost of ruling can be very high."

"Sometimes, I think the cost of ruling is _too_ high. If it were anybody else but Mia we were talking about, I'd say that protecting her heart was just an excuse to not try again. However, I do see your point. When I was a young man and I first came to work for Royal Security, I could sense it right off the bat that you had walls built up around your heart that were sky high, and I didn't understand it. But after I worked in the palace for several years and I saw everything you went through all the time, I came to realize that while your security team could protect you from physical harm, you needed to rely on your walls to protect you from emotional and spiritual harm so that you could do your job every day as Queen without your enemies and the press destroying you from the inside out. And now, our little girl is in the same predicament, and it just breaks my heart."

"It breaks my heart, too. I really had hoped that Mia would have moved on and found her Mr. Right by now. I always hoped that Mia would fall in love with the right man one day and get married and be as happy with him as I am with you, but then again, maybe it really is for the best. And besides, she's only twenty-nine. She's still got her whole life in front of her. Who knows? She still may change her mind one day and find her Mr. Right. But until then, we have to support her. We have to be there for her and her child just as she's always been there for us."

Joseph smiled told Clarisse, "And that's exactly what we're going to do, my dear."

"Besides, it'll be a lot of fun having another little one around. I'm looking forward to it."

"Another pair of little feet running around the palace with Isaac," Joseph mused, and then he gave Clarisse a big kiss. "I can hardly wait."

Clarisse gave Joseph a big smile and said to him, "Neither can I."


	33. Gracie

: **Note to readers:** I am **so** sorry it's taken me so long to update _Cherished_ , guys. Some unexpected problems came up last month, and then when I tried to upload this chapter of _Cherished_ a week ago, Doc Manager shut down on me and I couldn't update any of my stories here. It was quite a glitch some of us writers here were unfortunate enough to have, and I was one of the unlucky ones. Thankfully, the issue seems to be resolved now. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy.

 **Chapter 33: Gracie**

When the issue of the royal line of succession came up in a session with Parliament a couple of days after Mia announced her plans to adopt, many Parliament members supported Mia in her wishes to change the law to allow an adopted child to inherit the throne the same way a biological child could. Unfortunately, though, Mia did still have her political opponents to contend with who argued, fussed, and gave her a hard time, for really no reason at all. And thanks to her opponents, the next several Parliament sessions were a real headache for Mia to say the least.

"I just don't understand it all," Mia complained to Andrew with a frustrated sigh as they walked together through the palace garden one evening. "I know a single queen adopting a child isn't the way it's usually done. I know that when it comes to the whole issue of royal heirs, not just in Genovia but in every country with royalty, the king or queen is supposed to get married first and then get pregnant and have a royal baby. But everybody knows a pregnancy is not possible for me, and on top of that, as you already know, I have long since decided that I'm not interested in marriage." Andrew didn't say anything as they continued walking together, but that last sentence was an arrow to his heart. He'd fallen deeply in love with Mia years before, and even after all this time, that had never changed. In all his years living in Genovia, he never even looked at another woman, because Mia was the only woman he wanted. And even though it had been so long now, he still held out hope that somehow, someday, she would change her mind. "Maybe the next heir to the Genovian throne will be adopted and maybe that isn't the way it's usually done," Mia continued, "but why does it matter as long as I'll be providing my child with a good, loving home and environment?"

"Don't worry about it, Mia," Andrew said. "You know how it goes. There's always going to be somebody somewhere to find something to complain about, for no real reason at all, other than their own stupidity, that is. You've always done a wonderful job as Queen of Genovia, and your people know that. And as a whole, the Genovian people do support you in your decision to adopt and everyone knows that, including everyone in Parliament. Don't worry about your opponents. They'll fall in line, and even if they don't, you'll still have enough support in Parliament without them for the motion to pass when it's voted on day after tomorrow." Very soon, the big motion would be voted on in Parliament and even though Mia didn't expect any trouble, she wasn't looking forward to listening to all of her opponents' complaints during the session before Prime Minister Motaz officially took the vote.

"I know I'm just being silly, allowing myself to get so worked up over them. I guess it's just that I'm already kind of nervous about this whole thing. I'll be doing something no other ruler has ever done in Genovia before – becoming a single parent – and I'm…kind of scared about it. And listening to all those stuffy old bureaucrats complain about my decision to adopt in Parliament only makes me more nervous about it. I mean, becoming a parent is no small thing, and especially not for a queen. I've already had a long talk with Shades and the rest of the security staff about it and they'll be making all the necessary preparations and increasing security around here. Shades and I are going to be doing everything within our power to keep this child protected from the press, but that still doesn't change the fact that I'll be bringing a child into a difficult life; a difficult role. I'm going to be there for this child and so are my grandparents and Lilly and Mom, and I know he or she can also count on Uncle Andrew," Mia said, and Andrew locked his eyes with hers and smiled.

"Naturally," he agreed. It pleased him immensely to know that Mia knew she and her child could count on him for support. Of course, he would have preferred it for them to be married and be going through this together and that he could give her support as a husband and not just as a friend, and that he could be a father to Mia's child and not just his or her "Uncle Andrew." But since Mia wasn't open to that possibility, he was glad he could still be there for them as their friend.

"No matter what, this child is going to be very well loved and cared for. I'm just scared that I'm being unfair, bringing a child into a life like this, and that I won't be able to balance being both a mother and a queen."

"Mia, you are _not_ being unfair. Even if you were just an ordinary woman and not the Queen of Genovia and you were adopting a child, life would still be difficult for you and your child anyway. Life is difficult for _everybody_ , regardless if you're royal or not. No matter what, you can't escape that. What matters is that your child is brought into a loving, nurturing home and family, and when it comes to loving and nurturing, this child cannot possibly ask for anybody better than you.

"I never will forget last year when you were planning on taking that diplomatic trip to Venice. It was supposed to be a kind of working vacation for you, and you were really looking forward to it. Then Isaac came down with a stomach virus, and because he absolutely _had_ to have his Mia there to play games with him and spend time with him while he was stuck in bed, you canceled your big trip, and you made arrangements for all those Italian diplomats you were supposed to meet with to come to Genovia instead. You met with the diplomats during the day, and the second you were finished with all your work, you personally brought Isaac's fluids and medicine to him, and you were there, spending every free second you had with him, cheering him up. You've done things like that for him all his life."

Mia just shrugged and said, "It's my job. As soon as we all found out that I could never have a baby the natural way, Grandma told me that she'd share Isaac with me, so I've always considered it my job to help her and Grandpa with him as much as I could."

"You're his second mother, Mia. You always have been. And you've been an outstanding queen on top of that. I know that with a child of your own, it'll still be a difficult adjustment for both you and your child, but we'll all be right here to help you. And besides, you did a wonderful job balancing being a queen and being a second mother to Isaac. You'll do equally wonderful with this child. I'm certain of it."

Mia gave Andrew a lovely smile, and then much to Andrew's surprise – and delight – she suddenly laid a big kiss on his lips, which _definitely_ made Andrew's heart rate shoot up to about a thousand.

After he caught his breath again, he asked, "What was that for?"

"For eight years of constant friendship, listening, and encouragement. You have always been there for me, and I just want you to know I appreciate it so much. I don't know what I would do without you."

Andrew smiled, holding back his feelings as best he could, and he told her, "What are friends for?" Andrew _didn't want_ to be just a friend to Mia, though. He wanted _so much more_ , but he knew he couldn't let on, so he just smiled bravely through the rest of their stroll together.

Although Mia's opponents did complain and make arguments about it, when Parliament met again and voted on the motion, it passed through with plenty of support. Several days later, Mia began meeting with social workers at the children's shelter in Libbet and officially started all the paperwork and the whole process of adopting. Mia did have the option of adopting an infant, but she long since decided that she wanted to adopt an older child since it was often a lot harder for an older child to get adopted. Mia, Clarisse, and Joseph went to children's home in Libbet many times over the next several months, meeting with all the children there and really getting to know them.

One day in January, a new child entered the children's home and a couple of weeks after she arrived, she met the reigning Queen of Genovia and her grandparents for the very first time. Her full name was Grace Katherine Winters, and everyone at the children's home called her Gracie. She was almost five years-old, and right away, Mia, Clarisse, and Joseph instantly noticed her beauty. She truly was a gorgeous little child with long curly red hair, fair skin, adorable freckles on her cheeks, and the most incredible green eyes. What was even more captivating than her beauty, however, was her shyness and sweetness.

Gracie's mother had been an incurable drug addict who'd poured all her money into feeding her habit. After spending all her money on drugs all the time, there had been nothing left for Gracie, not even for food or basic necessities. It had gotten so bad, the authorities had no choice but to step in and remove her from her mother's custody the year before. Since then, her mother, who had been her only living relative, had overdosed on drugs, and Gracie had been declared a ward of the state. Gracie had been living in a children's home near the village of Mertz, but had just recently been transferred to the children's home in Libbet before meeting the Queen.

And when she did meet Queen Mia, Queen Clarisse, and Joseph, it took her all of two seconds to steal their hearts. Gracie was the youngest child they'd met, and while all the other children they'd gotten to know over the past few months had touched them deeply, it was Gracie they simply couldn't get out of their minds, not just because of her beauty, but because of her pure sweetness, innocence, shyness, and vulnerability.

Little Gracie was deeply afraid she'd do something wrong when she first walked into the lounge of the children's home, which was one of the rooms of the castle in Libbet that had remained completely the same when the castle had been converted into a children's home years ago. It was spacious and had a lovely matching beige couch and chairs, with an oak coffee table and end tables, as well as a beautiful white rug on the golden marble floor, and like the palace in Pyrus, the walls were filled with paintings of gorgeous landscape scenery. And when Gracie walked into the huge room for the first time, holding onto the social worker's hand for dear life, she was terrified she'd do or say something wrong and get in trouble, and it showed in her huge green eyes – which instantly melted all three of their hearts.

"It's okay, Gracie," Miss Wood, the social worker who was a tall, lovely black lady, told her gently. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Gracie, do you know who this lady is?" she asked as she motioned towards Mia, and Gracie nodded. "Who is she?" Miss Wood prodded.

After a long pause, little Gracie finally answered in the smallest voice, "The Queen."

"That's right. And this lady here," she said as she motioned towards Clarisse, "is Queen Mia's grandmother, Queen Clarisse. And this gentleman standing next to her," she said as she motioned towards Joseph, "is her husband, Mr. Joseph. Gracie, what do we do when we meet the Queen? Do you remember?"

Even though Miss Wood had just gone over it with Gracie outside in the hall that she had to curtsey when meeting the Queen, she was so nervous, she instantly forgot, and she shook her head.

Mia then shook her head and said, "It's alright, Miss Wood. She doesn't need to do anything, except sit down here with us so we can get to know each other better. Is that alright, Gracie?"

Again, Gracie was incredibly scared and nervous, too scared and nervous, in fact, to even respond.

"You have to excuse Gracie, Your Majesty. She's terribly shy," Miss Wood explained to Mia.

"That's perfectly alright," Mia said as she gave Gracie a warm, understanding smile, and then she walked up to Gracie and Miss Wood and knelt down in front of Gracie to get at eye-level with her. "Gracie, I think that somebody somewhere told you that queens were great big, mean, scary monsters. Well, let me set the record straight. Queens are not scary people, and I promise you, _you do not_ have to be afraid of me," Mia said softly as she tenderly touched Gracie's cheek.

Clarisse and Joseph walked over to them in that moment, and as Clarisse stared into the little girl's huge eyes, still wide with fear, she couldn't help but fall in love with her. "And you needn't fear us either, my little dear," Clarisse told her in the softest voice as she stroked her hair. "I promise you, there are no monsters here."

"I made sure of that before we came here," Joseph said to her in a gently teasing voice. "You see, Gracie, it's my job to protect Queen Clarisse and Queen Mia, and it's also Miss Wood's and everybody else's job here to keep you kids safe and protected as well. Miss Wood would never let any monsters come in here near you kids, and I would never let my wife and granddaughter go near a place that had any monsters in it, either."

That actually got a tiny smile out of Gracie, and Mia, Clarisse, and Joseph all smiled in return.

"Gracie, would you like to come over to the couch and sit down with us for a little bit?" Mia asked, and after a few long moments, Gracie eventually nodded. "That's great," Mia said as she straightened up, and then she took Gracie's hand and led her over to the couch. "Let's sit down," she told her as they walked to the couch together and took a seat.

After they spent some time with Gracie that day, Miss Wood explained to Mia, Clarisse, and Joseph that in addition to all her deceased mother's neglect, she had also been verbally abusive to Gracie, and that that was a big part of the reason why she was so shy and withdrawn. But even though she barely spoke two words to them that day, the three of them simply couldn't get her out of their minds, and especially not Mia. Every time Mia closed her eyes, she saw Gracie's frightened, adorable little face and her big eyes, and more than anything, she yearned to take her back home with her to the palace, lay all the love on her she possibly could, and help make the world a less scary place for her.

The next day, Mia had Marjorie make the arrangements for Gracie to come to the palace the following week to spend some time there, as she had done with several other children before her. Miss Wood and other social workers at the children's home let Mia know in advance that even though professionals at both the children's home in Mertz and the children's home in Libbet had been working with her a great deal, trying to help her overcome her fear and shyness and come out of her shell more, she was still a terribly withdrawn child and would continue to need a lot of love and attention. They also let Mia know that Gracie still had times when she became so afraid, she would hide under her bed, the place where she often hid from her mother during the times she had come home drunk and angry.

Mia had one of the guest suites, the one that was nearest to her own, set up for Gracie before she arrived at the palace. It was considerably smaller than Mia's suite, of course, but it was still very lovely. As a matter of fact, it was the only suite in the palace that had beautiful landscapes painted all over the walls, like many of the downstairs rooms of the palace did. It had a queen-sized bed with a lovely beige bedspread, white carpeting, an en suite bathroom, and a nice little closet. Mia learned from Miss Wood that Gracie really loved stuffed animals, so a few days before she arrived, Mia had the guest suite practically filled to the brim with stuffed toys for Gracie.

The morning Gracie arrived at the palace, Mia and Clarisse personally escorted her upstairs to her guest suite themselves.

"Look, Gracie," Mia whispered in her ear once they all walked into the suite together. "Look at all these stuffed animals. And guess what? They're all yours!"

Gracie said nothing, but instead, simply stared at all the stuffed toys. Then, a few moments later, she finally ran to where all the stuffed animals were sitting, and she grabbed one. It was a pink stuffed bunny wearing a pink and white polka-dotted dress, and once she had the bunny in her arms, she took off running with it into the closet.

Mia and Clarisse just kind of stared at each other a moment, confused, but then Mia said, "Miss Wood told me that she gets scared and likes to hide under the bed at times. Maybe she's a little scared, being in a new place and all, and wants to hide in the closet."

"Maybe," Clarisse agreed.

"I'll go check on her," Mia said, and then she went into the closet and after a couple of minutes, she successfully managed to coax her out again.

Mia had canceled as many meetings and appointments as she could that day so that she would be able to spend as much of it with Gracie as possible. Later on that night, after Mia had put Gracie to bed, she sat down with Clarisse and Joseph on the couch in their suite and had a long talk with them about the entire adoption process with Gracie.

"I know I never asked you this before now, but what do you really think? About me adopting Gracie, I mean?"

"Oh darling, you know how we feel," Clarisse replied. "Joseph and I adore Gracie. She is _so_ sweet and precious."

"Absolutely," Joseph agreed.

"However, I will admit that I do have reservations. She's so little, and she's already been through so much in her young life as it is. And as you well recall, it is no small thing to become the Princess of Genovia."

"I know," Mia concurred.

"I worry that adopting Gracie and giving her a royal title now is too much for her," Clarisse said.

"No, Grandma, I agree with you. She's much too badly shaken up inside to be able to handle something like that right here, right now. But I do want to take some time – as much time as it takes, even if it's months or years – to get to know her and help her recover from everything her mother did to her and help her to truly feel safe again. After that, we can start really dealing with the issues of adoption and royal titles and everything. I mean, I know how important it is for the throne to pass to one of my children someday and not to Nicholas Deveraux, and I do hope that Gracie will one day eventually decide that she wants to be both my daughter and the Princess of Genovia, but I won't force her to accept the title if she doesn't want it. If Gracie should decide she doesn't want the title, then I'm trusting in God that another one of the children He sends to me for me to adopt in the future will. But talking about Gracie here in the present, I just have this feeling, both in my gut and in my heart that simply won't go away. Every time I so much as look at her, both my gut instinct and my heart tell me that I _have_ to adopt this little girl and take care of her."

"To be perfectly honest, my gut and my heart do me the same way every time I look into that sweet little face, too," said Joseph.

"And so do mine," Clarisse agreed. "Well, sweetheart, your grandfather and I are with you and Gracie in this every step of the way. And I'm glad you decided to take the whole thing slowly. You're absolutely right. I agree with you, that we should just focus on helping Gracie find healing now, and leave the whole royal heir issue in the good Lord's hands. Jesus has gotten us this far and I know He'll make certain that Genovia is always in good hands. And as far as Gracie is concerned, we'll just take it slow and steady; one day at a time."

"One day at a time," Mia repeated. "You're right, Grandma." Then she kissed Clarisse on the cheek and told her and Joseph, "Thanks, you guys."

A moment later, she got up from her seat, and then she bent over and gave both of her grandparents a big hug.

"Of course, my dear," Clarisse said.

"Well, goodnight. I think I'm going to pop my head in Gracie's suite and check on her one more time before I turn in."

Clarisse and Joseph both laughed, and then Joseph said, "You're a wonderful mommy already."

"Indeed, you are," Clarisse agreed. "And I think you're going to do a wonderful job of helping Gracie heal. I don't think she could possibly ask for anybody better than you," she assured her, and it was entirely the truth. Clarisse knew that after all Mia had been through, growing up without her father and enduring so much verbal and emotional abuse from all the bullies she'd had to put up with in school, Mia really was the perfect person to help Gracie because she understood a lot of what she had been through.

"Thanks so much, you two. You really are the best."

"Was there ever a doubt?" Joseph teased, and then they all laughed.

"Goodnight," Mia told them as she walked out the doors of their suite.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Clarisse responded.

In the next moment, Joseph suddenly gave Clarisse a big, long kiss. Then he told her, "Just thought I'd give the old great-grandma a kiss from the old great-grandpa."

"Hey, we are _not_ that old," Clarisse said.

Then all of the sudden, Isaac, who was in his jammies and was _supposed_ to be asleep, popped out of his room and cried out, "Yes, you are!"

"Oh, that's it, young man," Joseph said to him in a mockingly stern voice. " _That is it._ We're coming after you now!"

"You can't come chasing after me! You're too old!" Isaac teased. To put it mildly, he was quite the mischievous little rascal.

"Too old, huh?" Clarisse said as she put her hands on her hips. " _You just watch us!_ "

A moment later, both Clarisse and Joseph started chasing after Isaac, tearing all through their suite like a hurricane, until they eventually ran him down and got him on his bed in his room. Then they proceeded to give him a double tickle torture.


	34. Growing

**Note to readers:** I just want to let you all know how sorry I am that I haven't updated _Cherished_ in so long. Something unexpected happened in my life that made it too difficult to write for a while. I will honestly try to update more often from now on, though, and again, I do apologize for the delay. Thank you to **everyone** who has faved, followed, or reviewed _Cherished_. Your support means everything to me. :)

 **Chapter 34: Growing**

Even though everyone else in the palace fell head over heels in love with little Gracie instantly, for the first several weeks she was there, her self-esteem remained painfully low, as it had been throughout her life. For most of her young life, her mother had told her horrible, abusive things and had really put her down much of the time, which in turn had taken a pretty devastating toll on her. It was next to impossible for her to believe in herself, and a person could easily tell just by looking into her eyes that she was a little girl who was in a lot of pain. The social workers at both children's homes where she'd lived before had all tried very hard, and had made a little progress with her, but more work needed to be done to help bring Gracie out of her shell. After she had been there for a couple of weeks, Andrew paid them a visit at the palace, and he really hit it off with her, which in turn helped bring her out of her shell a tiny bit more, and whenever Lilly visited it helped a little as well, but she still remained pretty withdrawn.

It wasn't until mid-March, about eight weeks after Gracie first came to stay in the palace, that Mia made some true headway with her. It was noon, and Mia was sitting at her desk in her office finishing up some paperwork and getting ready to quit work to eat lunch when Clarisse came in and they started talking. Unbeknownst to either of them, little Gracie had come along the very moment after Clarisse entered Mia's office and was hanging around outside, listening to every word they were saying.

"Hi, Grandma," Mia said as Clarisse walked inside, signing the last of the forms that needed to be signed for that day. "I'm just finishing up some paperwork here. What are you up to?"

"Nothing much. I just thought that since you didn't have to have lunch with any diplomats or Parliamentarians today, you could eat with your grandma and grandpa for a change."

Mia smiled knowingly and said, "Come to check up on me, have you?"

Mia had developed a severe chest cold the week before, and much to Clarisse's chagrin, had continued to work hard all the way through it without taking any time off. Even though her cold had begun a week ago, she still was feeling under the weather and didn't have much of an appetite. For the past few days, the staff had noticed (and had let Clarisse know) that she'd been skipping meals. Mia knew her grandmother well and she knew this was more than just a social call. She knew she'd come to make sure she'd eat something, and that really touched her. In the past, Clarisse had not always displayed such tender concern for her granddaughter, and it meant a great deal to Mia to be reminded of the fact that she really did mean a lot to her grandmother. Of course Clarisse had always loved Mia, but she hadn't always been that good at _showing_ it. Now though, thankfully, things were very different between them.

"I've come to make sure you're not skipping lunch again like I hear you did yesterday and the day before, and the day before that."

"Eh, big deal. You know better than anyone that a queen has to watch her figure."

"You've always had a fantastic figure. As a matter of fact, I've often thought to myself over the years that you were a bit _too_ small. I think it would actually be good for you to gain a pound or two."

During Mia's earlier days in the palace, Clarisse scolded her to keep an eye on her figure whenever she caught her eating ice cream, so hearing her say that now was a bit surprising. "I remember all the lectures I used to get from you about being careful about my diet and my weight whenever you found me eating ice cream back in my first year or so in the palace. Now, you actually want me to _gain_ weight?"

"Well, let's just say that it was the Queen giving you those lectures about watching your weight a lot more than it was Grandma. Now, you're not speaking to the Queen. You're speaking to Grandma, and Grandma doesn't like it one bit to see you skipping meals."

Mia put aside her paperwork and laid down her pen then and responded, "I'm sorry if I worried you, Grandma. It's just hard to have much of an appetite sometimes when you're battling a cold."

"I know it is, darling. But no matter how hard it is to eat when you're fighting a cold, you still have to. You're in an extremely stressful job. You're carrying the weight of the entire country of Genovia on your shoulders. And there's your previous medical history we have to think about, too. You simply _must_ take good care of yourself at all times."

"I know I have to, Grandma. I know," Mia said, and then she got up from her seat and walked around to where Clarisse was standing. "So where do you and Grandpa want to have lunch today? My suite? Your suite? Or do you want to eat in the dining room or in the kitchen?"

"Why don't we all just eat together in the kitchen?"

"That's fine with me. I'll go and get Gracie. I'd really like for her to eat with us, too."

"That's a terrific idea. I know I'll probably sound like a broken record when I say this, but I'm just crazy about that little girl. She is _such_ a little sweetheart."

"I know. I know what I said before, that I'll wait as long as it takes until she feels she's ready to accept me as a mom before I talk to her about adopting her, and that I won't force her into accepting her title and becoming the Princess of Genovia. But every time I look at her, every time I watch her, I just get so impatient for the day to get here when I can finally adopt her, and I become more and more certain all the time that she'll make such a wonderful princess."

"I feel exactly the same. She couldn't be any sweeter or more loving if she tried, and even though she's so young, I can tell that she already has the characteristics of a true princess. She's very caring, and incredibly conscientious for someone so little. She's so sensitive and gentle. You know, Gracie may not be related to you biologically, but in a manner of speaking, there is so much of you in her, Mia. That's how I know she's going to be such an outstanding princess, and eventually queen someday. She's so much like you."

"Thanks so much for saying that, Grandma," Mia said with a big smile.

Clarisse returned the smile and responded, "I was only telling the truth."

"No!" Gracie yelled as she suddenly came running inside, carrying her favorite pink bunny. " _No!_ "

"What is it, Gracie?" Mia asked as she knelt down to get at eye level with her. "What's wrong?"

"No princess!" she shouted in response.

"What is it? Are you saying you don't want to be a princess?"

"No princess!" she repeated.

"Okay, sweetheart. Why don't we come over here and sit down and talk about this, alright?" Mia said gently, and then she led Gracie by the hand over to the loveseat where she, Gracie, and Clarisse all sat down together. After they were sitting down, Mia continued, "Gracie, I know that you and I have only known each other for a couple of months now, and I understand that it's too soon for us to talk about things like adoption and you becoming a princess."

"No princess!" she cried out again.

"It's alright, my love," Clarisse said kindly. "We all happen to think that you will make an outstanding little princess, but _nobody_ is going to make you become the Princess of Genovia if that isn't what you want."

"That's right," Mia concurred.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart," Mia said as she did exactly that with her index finger.

"Okay," she said quietly, and then she hopped down from the loveseat and started to walk out of Mia's office.

"Wait a minute, darling," Clarisse stopped her, and she turned around. "Come back over here and sit down with us again for a moment, would you, please?" Gracie then did exactly that. "Sweetheart, just out of curiosity, why don't you want to become a princess?"

"Because I can't do it right!"

"Why do you think that, sweetie?" Mia asked softly.

"Because I can't do _anything_ right!"

"Who told you that you couldn't do anything right?" Mia asked, and then there was a long silence. "Gracie…did your mom say that to you?" After another long silence, Gracie finally nodded, and then Mia gave her a big, long hug and lovingly kissed the top of her red head while Clarisse fought off tears. "Gracie, I want you to listen to me, alright? Your mom was wrong. She was terribly, _horribly_ wrong to say such mean things to you, and I want you to know that every mean thing she ever said to you was a lie. It's not true that you can't do anything right. You do _so many_ things right. Why, do you know what happens around here when you walk into a room?" Mia asked her, and Gracie shook her head. "I'll tell you what happens," Mia continued. "When you walk into a room in our palace and everybody sees you, they get the biggest smiles on their faces. When you walk into a room, you light it up! Not everybody can do that, _but you can_."

"That's absolutely true," Clarisse agreed. "Only a true princess has that ability."

"No princess!" she cried out once again.

"It's okay, my darling," Clarisse told her. "Like Mia just said a second ago, no one here is going to force you to become a princess if it's not what you want. I was just letting you know that you _do_ have the ability inside you to become a wonderful princess, should you ever change your mind."

"But the whole princess thing isn't important right now," Mia assured Gracie. "Right now, the important thing is for you to begin to understand that your mom was wrong about every mean thing she ever told you. I know that you're supposed to be able to trust your parents, Gracie, and I know you probably trusted your mom when she was alive, and so that makes it hard to believe that she was wrong, _but she was_. Sometimes, people aren't always blessed with the kind of parents they _should_ have had. Sometimes, they get stuck with parents like your mom, who was mean and hurtful. And it's those kinds of parents who should _never_ be listened to or taken seriously. But you _can_ take Grandma Clarisse and me seriously. We love you _so much_ , and we would _never_ tell you a bunch of mean lies like your mom did. And I want you to know that Grandma Clarisse and I think that you are the sweetest, most beautiful, most wonderful little girl in the whole wide world."

"Absolutely, sweetheart. You are, quite simply, an _amazing_ little girl, and we all love you _so_ much. We just _adore_ you."

Gracie was so overwhelmed in that moment that she threw herself into Mia's arms and began to cry. Mia kissed the top of her head then and hugged her tightly, and she couldn't help but cry with her. A few tears even came to Clarisse's eyes, although she very quickly wiped them away.

"I love you, Mia," the child told her in the smallest voice, and Mia cried even harder.

"I love you too, baby girl," she responded, and then she began to rock Gracie, and in that moment, Clarisse had to wipe even more tears from her eyes.

After another few minutes of loving on Gracie, the threesome met Joseph in the kitchen and they all had lunch together. They enjoyed their meal together as always, but then suddenly, when they were about halfway done eating, Mia had a horrendous coughing spell that lasted about the next minute or two. Joseph knew Mia was recovering from a cold so although it did concern him a little, it didn't really shake him up all that much. But Clarisse was a different story. Mia's battle with cancer over seven years ago had truly terrified her down to the bone, and that was putting it mildly. After having lost a son, the thought of the possibility of losing her only grandchild as well was petrifying, and from that point on, every time Mia so much as had a fever, it deeply frightened her. In the back of her mind, the terrifying possibility of Mia's cancer coming back was always there. A small part of her was _always_ thinking about it. After Mia's long coughing spell finally ended, Clarisse practically yelled at her that she was going to go see Dr. Mackenzie about her cold as soon as she could, whether she wanted to or not. Mia knowingly smiled, able to see the worry and concern for her in her grandmother's eyes and face, and she grudgingly agreed to go and see him as soon as she was finished with her work for the day.

For the next couple of hours after lunch, Mia was stuck in meetings with foreign diplomats. When her second meeting with a French ambassador ended at about two-thirty, she said goodbye to him and went back into her office so that she could look over all her necessary notes and information, making sure she'd be ready for a session with Parliament that started at three o'clock. Shortly after she came back into her office though, she had another severe coughing spell.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Marjorie asked as Mia continued to cough. And even though she couldn't stop coughing in that moment, she nodded "yes." A few moments later, as the coughing spell continued, Marjorie went and got Mia a glass of water and handed it to her. Mia took a sip from it, but it didn't help, and Marjorie became increasingly worried. "Your Majesty, do you want me to get the doctor?" she asked, and Mia stubbornly shook her head "no."

Then in that next moment, it happened. The coughing spell finally ended, and after covering her mouth through it all, she took her hand away from her mouth…and she saw that she had actually been coughing up blood. In that instant, Mia's eyes suddenly grew wide with fear.

"What is it, Your Majesty?" Marjorie asked gently. "What's wrong?" Saying nothing, Mia simply responded by showing Marjorie the blood in her hand. "Oh, my Lord," she gasped. "I'll go get Dr. Mackenzie right away."

"That's okay, Marjorie," Mia said quietly as she took a tissue from her desk and wiped the blood from her hand. "I'll go into the bathroom and wash my hands, and then I'll go to Dr. Mackenzie's office myself. He doesn't need to come in here."

"As you wish, my dear. In the meantime, I'll inform Prime Minister Motaz that you won't be able to make this afternoon's Parliament session."

"Just tell him I'll be a little late," Mia told her, and then she walked out of her office and ran into Shades, who was standing guard right outside.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty? I heard you coughing pretty badly just now," he told her.

"Actually, something's come up. I have to go the restroom for a moment, and then I'll be going to see Dr. Mackenzie. I'll be a little late for my session with Parliament today."

"Are you ill, Your Majesty?" he asked in a very concerned voice.

Mia really didn't want to tell people about what had just happened because she knew that the more people she told, the more likely her grandparents, particularly her grandmother, would also hear about it courtesy of the palace grapevine, which of course was as active as ever. But then again, as Mia thought it over, she realized that since she was suddenly going to see the doctor, it was pretty inevitable that word would get back to them very quickly regardless, and if they _had_ to hear about it, it was probably better that they heard about it from Shades.

"Well, I just coughed up a little blood in there, so _something's_ obviously wrong," she admitted, and even though Shades's facial expressions didn't show it very much, she could see it in his eyes how concerned he got when he heard her say that.

"I'll put the boys on standby in case we have to make a trip to the hospital."

"Now Shades, let's not jump the gun. Let's just hold our horses a minute and wait and see what Dr. Mackenzie has to say first before we do anything. It may not be all that serious, and I don't want to worry people unnecessarily."

As soon as Mia said that, Shades couldn't help but think to himself that she sounded so much like her grandmother when she'd been on the throne. Mia was clearly no longer the rather reckless young girl she'd been when she first came to live in the palace full-time eight years ago. She had grown and matured a very great deal, and had in fact fully grown into her role as Queen. He, in addition to several others, even Mia's own grandmother, had lost faith in her and had doubted whether or not she had the makings of a queen in the beginning when she'd made a few mistakes, but as he looked at the true Queen who was standing before him now, he really found himself regretting doubting her so much back then. _Of course_ there'd been some immaturity to deal with in the beginning. She'd only been twenty-one years-old and fresh out of college, with very little life experience under her belt. _Of course_ she hadn't been fully ready inside to become the Queen of Genovia the very moment she set foot inside the palace again, which was basically what the unfair Parliamentarians had forced on her. But despite their unfair antics and everybody's doubt, she had risen above it all and had defeated it, and had become a truly wonderful Queen of Genovia in her own right. And Shades had really grown to care about Mia and respect her over the years, which was why he was so worried now in the face of what she'd just told him. In the back of his mind, like Clarisse, he too was pretty frightened of the possibility of Mia's cancer making a comeback.

"Do you want me to inform your grandparents?"

"I'd appreciate that, yes. I think I'd prefer it if they heard about it from you rather than the palace grapevine."

"Of course, Your Majesty," he told her, and then he went upstairs to inform them of the situation and she went to the bathroom to wash what was left of the dried blood off her hands.

When Mia walked into Dr. Mackenzie's office a couple of minutes later, Clarisse and Joseph were already there waiting for her, as was Dr. Mackenzie.

"Mia, darling, Shades told us what happened," Clarisse said, and Mia could easily hear all the concern for her in her voice.

"Your Majesty, you say you're coughing up blood?" questioned Dr. Mackenzie.

"A little. I just had a bad coughing spell a couple of minutes ago and I coughed up a little blood."

"I see. And your grandparents tell me that you've been fighting off a nasty chest cold for about the past week or so. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"Why don't you have a seat up here on the exam table and I'll have a listen."

"Whatever you say, doctor," Mia agreed, and then she hopped up on the table and Dr. Mackenzie listened to her with his stethoscope for the next several moments.

When he was done listening to her with his stethoscope, Clarisse anxiously asked, "Doctor, this couldn't have anything to do with her previous cancer, could it? It couldn't have come back?"

Dr. Mackenzie shook his head and replied, "While I can't say for certain yet, Your Majesties, Joseph, I personally don't believe this has anything to do with cancer. Your Majesty, I'll need to send you to the hospital for some chest X-rays to be absolutely certain, but I believe your chest cold has progressed into a severe case of pneumonia. Like I said, we need to run further tests in order to make certain, though. I'll go speak to your Royal Head of Security and have him make the proper arrangements for his team to take you to the hospital."

"Do we have to do it _now?_ Parliament's in session right now as we speak."

" _Yes_ , young lady, we have to do it _now. Right now_ ," Clarisse insisted. "Pneumonia isn't something you mess around with, and you don't just mess around with your health either. You should have come to see Dr. Mackenzie a lot sooner."

"I just thought it was a simple cold and that I'd fight it off eventually."

"Don't you know it by now that when it comes to your health, we can't afford to take any chances?" Clarisse practically snapped at Mia, but not at all because she was angry with her. After her battle with cancer several years ago, Clarisse simply couldn't help but be super-vigilant when it came to her only grandchild's health, and it was pretty obvious to everyone how deeply it frightened her whenever something went wrong.

"Clarisse," Joseph said softly in an attempt to calm his wife down. No one understood better than he did how worried she was about Mia now, but he also didn't want her snapping at Mia either. That was really the last thing Mia needed.

Mia sighed then and responded, "I'm sorry I didn't come here sooner, Grandma. I've just been so busy with everything lately. I just didn't have the time."

"When it comes to your health, you have to _make_ the time," Clarisse told her much more gently this time as she lovingly touched her shoulder.

"I know that being a queen is a terribly busy job, Your Majesty, but your grandmother's right. You do have to remember to make the time in the midst of it all to take care of _you._ "

"That's right," Clarisse agreed.

"I'll go inform Shades of the situation," Dr. Mackenzie told them, and then he left the exam room, and Clarisse and Joseph waited with Mia until her team was ready to take her to the hospital.

It took very little time for the rest of the country of Genovia to hear about what had just happened with their Queen. Hardly any time passed at all before it was all over the Genovian news media that Queen Mia suddenly had to be taken to the hospital by her security team, although the royal press secretary had yet to make an official statement about it. Everyone decided that the palace would officially say nothing about the health of the Queen until they were one hundred percent certain what the problem was.

Mia had Marjorie call her mom and Lilly to tell them what was happening, and when Lilly found out what was going on, she in turn called Andrew and explained the situation to him, although he'd already heard about it himself on the news. After Lilly's call to Andrew, she got permission from her boss to leave the office for the day and go to the hospital since, obviously, this concerned the Queen and was a big story at the moment.

While Mia was being examined and X-rayed, Clarisse and Joseph were waiting alone together in a private waiting room, with Shades standing guard nearby. Shades's men had already secured the hospital and were doing an excellent job of keeping all the reporters and spectators at bay, so they had at least a little bit of privacy as they waited for the results of the chest X-rays.

"It's been a long time since I felt this frightened, Joseph," Clarisse admitted in a low, serious tone of voice.

"I know," he responded in the same tone.

"I haven't been this scared since Mia was first diagnosed with cancer all those years ago. Logically, in my mind, _I know_ what Dr. Mackenzie said; that he doesn't believe this has anything to do with cancer; that he thinks it's pneumonia, and I know pneumonia can be cured. But in my heart, I can't stop thinking, 'What if Dr. Mackenzie's wrong? What if her cancer _has_ come back after all?'"

"I know, darling. I know it's hard not to let your fears run away with you at a time like this, but try not to think the worst. She has been battling a cold recently, after all. It _does_ make sense that it might have progressed into pneumonia. You know what doctors always say when it comes to colds; that you have to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids, and Mia never really took the time to do that."

" _I kept telling her_ to slow down and take care of herself and get some rest."

"Yes, you did. _We both did._ But, our grandchild is a stubborn workaholic, like another young queen I knew once."

Clarisse fervently shook her head then and said, " _Oh, no._ She doesn't get that kind of stubbornness from _me._ She gets it from _Rupert!_ He was a million times more stubborn than I ever was!"

"Oh, really? I always thought the two of you were neck and neck," Joseph teased.

"Joseph, be serious. This is no time for jokes."

"I'm sorry, dear."

"I've made so many mistakes over the years, Joseph," Clarisse admitted while fighting off tears. "But my biggest mistakes were not the ones I made as a queen; they were the ones I made as a grandma. Joseph, I never _truly_ started being there for Mia until that cancer diagnosis. I realize it now that when I first came back into her life, I was a queen looking for a suitable princess to take her place one day and _not_ a grandma reuniting with the grandchild she loved and missed. Mia grew up believing, and for good reason, that Philippe and I had never cared anything about her. The very _first_ thing I should have done when I came back into Mia's life was to let her know how much I'd always cared about her and how much I had missed her all those years and how sorry I was that I hadn't been able to be there. Instead, I just tried to shove her title down her throat. I practically made it sound like I wanted her to just drop everything, pack her bags, move to Genovia and start ruling it the very next day. _No wonder_ she took off running like she did. I not only reinforced it for her that I didn't care about her or about what her father's absence and my absence had done to her; I probably scared her to death. No wonder she didn't want to have anything to do with me in the beginning.

"And while things _did_ improve between us over the following months and years, it wasn't until that cancer diagnosis that I _finally_ began addressing the issues between us that I _should_ have dealt with a very long time ago. I always knew; _I always knew_ how she struggled with a low self-esteem and low self-confidence, but I did _nothing_ to encourage her or to help her with that until she was diagnosed with cancer. I never _really_ took the time to sit down with her, listen to her, and be there for her until that happened. Until then, I always kept such walls up around my heart. Maybe I needed those walls to protect my heart from all my other political enemies, but Mia was _my_ _granddaughter_ ; _not_ my enemy. That was so unfair to her. It really hurts to look back on all of that now and realize that I gave her very good reason to believe that I cared more about how well she performed as a royal and how well she lived up to my expectations than I cared about Mia, herself.

"And now, she's really sick again and we don't know if it's a recurrence of her cancer or not. Joseph, if her cancer _has_ come back, I will simply die."

In that moment, Joseph lovingly wrapped his arm around Clarisse's shoulders and pulled her close to him and told her, "Clarisse, that is _not_ going to happen. When it's found in the early stages, uterine cancer is one of the easiest kinds of cancer there is to cure, and Mia's _was_ in the early stages when it was found. Her cancer has _not_ come back, and it never will. I'm certain of it.

"As for everything else you said, yes, you are right. As a grandma, you did make some mistakes. Yes, it's true that because of the way Helen and Philippe chose to handle things, Mia grew up believing that you and Rupert and Philippe didn't care about her, and you should have corrected that misunderstanding right off the bat, and perhaps given her a chance to get to know you a little better before you sprung the full truth on her the way you did. You scared her quite a bit in the beginning. But you also have to look at what you were going through at the time. After all, your own _child_ had died only a couple of months before. Many parents wouldn't even be able to function at all just two months after such a devastating loss, but you kept right on running Genovia and taking care of our country in the face of truly _great_ pain. In the face of all that, you really were doing the best you could at the time, even though you made some mistakes. You don't have to be so hard on yourself.

"As for the other things you mentioned, yes, you are quite right that you kept your walls up around your heart too often in the past, even with your own granddaughter, and that that was another mistake. It shouldn't have taken a cancer diagnosis for you to start letting Mia in and start really taking the time to listen to her and be there for her and tell her how much you love her. But my dear, all of that was _years_ ago. You've learned a lot since then. You're not the same constantly prim and proper queen that you were back then. Just as Mia has grown from a reckless and somewhat immature and irresponsible little girl into a mature, strong, hardworking queen, you too have grown from the perfectionist royal you used to be into a very warm, tenderhearted, loving grandma. You've both done a great deal of growing over the years. You've learned from your mistakes and you've made the changes in your relationship with your granddaughter that you needed to make, which is something many people never do. Many people lack the necessary maturity to learn and grow from their mistakes and make changes in their lives, but that's not true with you. You are a strong, mature, responsible, resilient, caring lady. A lady I'm proud to call my wife," Joseph said with tenderness, and then he leaned in and gave her a quick but loving kiss.

"Thank you, Joseph," Clarisse said quietly once the kiss ended.

Joseph then lovingly touched her chin, looked into her eyes, and told her, "And even though it's hard, try to stop worrying so much. Dr. Mackenzie feels certain that it's pneumonia and not cancer, and we have no reason to doubt him. He's a very fine doctor. He's taken very good care of our family for years."

"I know, and you're right. I'll try to stop worrying."

"Has there been any news yet?" Lilly's voice suddenly called, and Joseph turned and got up from his seat in that moment.

"No, Lilly. There hasn't been any word yet. They took her to get X-rayed," Joseph answered.

"How long has it been?" Andrew asked a moment later, walking into the waiting room right behind Lilly.

"Only a few minutes, Andrew," Clarisse replied. "We all only got here a short time ago. Why don't you and Lilly take a seat?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Andrew said and then he, Lilly, and Joseph sat down.

For about the next five minutes, they all waited together almost in total silence, until Dr. Mackenzie and a couple of his colleagues came into the room, both of whom were tall, handsome middle-aged men. Everybody stood up the moment they walked in, and the sight of the other two doctors in the room really made their hearts race, especially Clarisse's. Even though they were all trying to stay logical and not fear the worst, it was so hard not to, and the sight of the other doctors made them all more afraid that they were there because the problem was cancer after all and not pneumonia.

After Dr. Mackenzie shook hands with Joseph and gave a quick respectful bow to Queen Clarisse, he said to them, "These are my colleagues, Dr. Jamison and Dr. Martin, and just to be safe, they've taken a look at Her Majesty's chest X-rays along with me, and after seeing the X-rays, we are all completely certain that this has _nothing_ to do with cancer." The instant he said that, Clarisse, Joseph, Lilly, and Andrew all let out a big sigh of relief. "I can now tell you with complete certainty that Her Majesty has developed a rather severe case of pneumonia. She'll need to be hospitalized for a little while, but with the proper treatment, she should be just fine."

Clarisse looked up then and said, "Thank You, Jesus."

"Hear, hear," Joseph agreed.

"I've admitted Her Majesty, and she should be getting settled into her room now. Your Majesty, Joseph, would you two like me to take you to your granddaughter now?"

"Yes, please," Clarisse responded. "That would be wonderful, doctor. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. It's right this way," he said, and then he and the doctors left and Clarisse and Joseph followed after them.

Once all the others were gone, Andrew heaved another big sigh of relief. "Well this has certainly been a scary afternoon, hasn't it?"

"You can say that again! As you may have noticed over the years, Andrew, I'm a pretty tough woman. I'm not your typical 'girly-girl.' I don't freak out all that easily, but when I heard that Mia coughed up _blood_ today, I got scared to death. I've never been that big on religion or faith or anything like that, but ever since I left the office to come to the hospital, I've been silently begging Jesus to let everything be okay with Mia."

"Yeah, me too. I was petrified when I heard about Mia coughing up blood. I just _knew_ it was something horrible, like lung cancer. If anything ever happened to Mia, Lilly, I…I don't know what I'd do," Andrew quietly admitted.

After a long silence and a little debating within herself, Lilly said, "You should tell her, Andrew."

"Tell her what?"

Lilly locked her eyes with Andrew's then and told him, "You should tell Mia the truth about how you really feel about her. I know that since the royal engagement all those years ago, you've really fallen in love with her, Andrew. I see it in your eyes every time you so much as mention her name. I've known it for years."

"Yes, but Mia's made it quite clear that she has no interest whatsoever in pursuing a romantic relationship, with me or with any man. She wants nothing to do with the whole idea of falling in love and getting married. She's told me I don't know how many times that she's married to her job; to her role as Queen."

Lilly let out a frustrated sigh in that moment and asked, "Andrew, do I _really_ have to spell it all out for you?! When you love somebody, when you _really_ love somebody, you can't just sit on the sidelines and do nothing and wait forever! Can't you see what it's doing to Mia, being married to her role, as you put it? It's because she's married to her role as Queen that she's starting to make herself sick. She gets so wrapped up in her work and her duties that when she gets sick, she doesn't take the time to stop and really take care of herself. That's why her cold progressed into pneumonia and she's in the hospital now. And if you just keep standing by on the sidelines, saying and doing _nothing_ to show Mia your true feelings for her, you'll be dooming her to a long, lonely life. Maybe she is making plans to adopt Gracie and other children in the future, but that and her royal position are not enough. She needs companionship, _true_ companionship; someone to watch out for her and share her daily burdens. She needs someone to love her and look out for her the way Joseph always loves and looks out for Queen Clarisse."

"That's different, Lilly. Queen Clarisse is just as much in love with Joseph as he is with her. I may be in love with Mia, but she doesn't feel the same way about me, and those kinds of feelings cannot be forced."

Again, Lilly let out a frustrated sigh and said, " _You never tried, you idiot!_ You never _really tried_ to romantically pursue Mia, not even when you were engaged to her. You put zero effort into cultivating a real romance with her back then, Andrew. _Zero._ You want to know _why_ Nicholas Deverat succeeded in getting Mia to fall in love with him and you failed? Because he was _daring._ Because he showed _passion._ Because he let Mia know he wasn't afraid to express his feelings for her, even if that meant breaking the rules and going against what was considered proper for people of their position. _He took risks._ And above all else, he let Mia know that he was attracted to her. _He put real effort_ into romancing her and making her feel _special._ How many dates did _you_ take Mia on when you were engaged to her? _None._ How many times did _you_ kiss her? _None._ How many times did you even _try_ to light a real fire between the two of you? _None._ So how can you really be so surprised that when the moment comes when you finally _do_ decide to kiss her, she doesn't feel any sparks?

"Maybe Mia doesn't have any romantic feelings for you right now, but if you _actually put some effort_ into a true romance between the two of you, her feelings might change. The point is, you have to _stop_ sitting around on the sidelines on your noble British butt and you have to _take action._ You have to tell Mia how you really feel, and then you have to start _actively_ _trying_ to win her heart. And I do believe you can do it. Mia _does_ love you, Andrew. It may only be platonic love right now, but still, there's a lot of love there. I'm her best friend. Believe me; I know. It may take a lot of time and a lot of effort, but for both your sakes, you have to try. And besides, you know as well as I do that Mia's an extraordinary human being, and that she's worth it."

After a long moment, Andrew finally admitted, "You're right, Lilly. I guess in hindsight, I really didn't put as much effort into a romance between Mia and me as I should have back when we were engaged. It was just hard for me because for one thing, I was being forced into it by my parents, and for another, it's not always easy for me to express my deeper emotions. In my home, my parents and I didn't just walk up to each other and give each other hugs and say 'I love you' like Mia's mother obviously did with her. Mia wears her heart on her sleeve and she says what she thinks and how she feels. It comes naturally to her. It doesn't to me. I have to take time to really get to know a young lady before I feel comfortable giving her kisses and going out on dates with her and expressing my feelings for her and trying to romance her. I'm not the sort of fellow who can just suddenly kiss a young lady after only knowing her for a week. I have to take my time. And acting like Nicholas Devereaux…that just isn't my way, Lilly."

"So _what is_ your way? Waiting around, doing _nothing?_ Look, I'm not saying I want you to trade personalities with Nicholas Deverat. Nicholas Deverat was exactly that: _a rat!_ Even worse, he ended up being a real _snake_ , just like his uncle. But what _I am_ saying is when it comes to winning a young woman's heart, you could actually learn a thing or two from him. He may be a creep, but I know this much about him: he would never wait as many years as you have to make a move. You can't wait forever, Andrew. You're a professor. Surely you know what _carpe diem_ means, don't you?"

"Seize the day."

"Exactly. Surely after what happened to Mia today, you can appreciate that phrase. We could have found out that Mia's cancer had come back today, Andrew. Mia doesn't have forever, you know. None of us do. Time is precious, so for heaven's sake, quit wasting it," Lilly told him, and then she left him alone in the waiting room with his thoughts.

And while Andrew was alone in the waiting room, he got to thinking very seriously about everything Lilly had said, and even though he hadn't exactly enjoyed hearing it, deep down, _he knew_ how right she was. He knew it was time, _high time_ , for him to start growing beyond the ever-proper young duke he was raised to be, who always followed all the rules in high society and always did everything that was expected of him and _never_ stepped out line or took risks the way Nicholas Deverat did. It was time for him to start growing into a man who would go out on a limb and dare to take a risk and put his heart out on the line for the sake of the woman he loved. And deep down he feared it because from past experience, he knew growing could be a scary and painful thing. But he _also_ knew it had to be done nevertheless.


	35. I'll Wait for You

**Note to** **readers:** I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update _Cherished_. Things have been crazy in my personal life over these past few months and unfortunately, the inspiration for the next chapter just wasn't there. Things continue to be kind of crazy for me, and like I said in my update of _Clarisse's Pearl_ , I'll post what I can, when I can. I want you all to know, though, that I am truly sorry for the wait. I also want you to know that your ongoing support means the world to me, and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, or reviewed Cherished. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. :)

 **Chapter 35: I'll Wait for You**

Three weeks later, in early April, Mia got quite a shock. She'd had to remain in the hospital for two weeks to recover from her pneumonia, and she'd been back home in the palace for the past eight days when it happened. It was twenty minutes after eight, and Mia had just tucked Gracie into bed and walked into her suite when she heard a sudden tapping on her window. She went over to the window, and _much_ to her surprise, it was actually _Andrew_ of all people, carrying a bouquet of roses!

Mia opened her window and saw that Andrew was actually standing on a ladder. After he handed her the bouquet, Mia asked, "Andrew, what's all this? What are you doing here, on a ladder of all things?"

"If you'll be so kind as to follow me down, I have a little surprise arranged for you out at the lake."

"You mean follow you down the ladder?"

"Yes. I'll go down first, and then I'll hold it steady for you."

Mia laughed a bit and shook her head for a second, unable to believe her ears. It was all so unlike Andrew. "Okay, Andrew," she said dubiously, not really sure _what_ she was getting herself into. "Just let me go put these in some water right quick, and then I'll be right down."

"I'll be here waiting," Andrew told her, and as she went to get a vase, he climbed down the ladder and waited for her to return to the window.

Mia returned to the window a few moments later, stuck her head out, and said, "I'm back now, Andrew. Are you ready for me to come down?"

"Yes. I'm holding the ladder now."

"Alright," Mia said, and then she started slowly but surely descending the ladder while Andrew held it firmly in place for her. Once Mia was on the ground, she said, "Maybe we better make a run for it, before any of the guards see us."

"No, it's alright, Mia. I had a long talk with Joseph, and he had a talk with the guards, and everything's all been taken care of. You and I officially have this evening to ourselves."

Mia laughed again and said, "Andrew, _what_ are you up to?"

"You'll see. Come on. Let's go to the stables. I left my horse there, so we'll go get him and you can get your horse as well, and we'll both ride out to the lake together."

"Okay," Mia said, and then she and Andrew went and got their horses.

Once they made it out to the lake, Mia saw Andrew's big surprise: a romantic candlelit dinner for two with champagne just waiting for them.

"So _that's_ why I couldn't get near the kitchen to get something to eat earlier this evening," said Mia, who was still sitting on her horse. "The chef claimed that he had to close the kitchen down because gallons of Pine Sol had gotten spilled all over the kitchen floor and people kept tripping and falling down. He claimed that he'd tripped and fallen too many times to be able to prepare dinner for everybody and he wouldn't let me in there. He wouldn't let me get near the refrigerator."

Andrew had a big smile on his face then and he said, "I had my accomplices in my little scheme."

"I never knew you could be so sneaky. You are just full of surprises all of the sudden," Mia told him as he climbed down from his horse. Then Andrew held his arms up to Mia and helped her down too, which she appreciated. She and Andrew had gone horseback riding together many times over the years, and every single time, he always helped her down from her horse and made sure she didn't fall, like the true gentleman he was. He was constantly looking out for her in little ways like that, both because he was a gentleman and because he well knew how clumsy she could be at times and he didn't want her to hurt herself, a fact that had always touched Mia.

"That I am," he agreed as they started walking arm in arm towards the small round table, which was covered in a fancy white tablecloth that had been embroidered with some of Genovia's famous lace. For whatever reason, there was also a brown leather bag sitting on the ground next to the table.

Without further ado, Mia and Andrew sat down at the table together and ate in the romantic candlelight. Since the chef had successfully kept Mia out of the kitchen all evening and she hadn't had anything to eat since lunch that afternoon, she really was starved, so she didn't pause between bites very often for a lot of conversation with Andrew. Andrew had had the chef prepare some of Mia's favorite dishes for their dinner that evening, so that only made her want to eat more and more. And quite frankly, Andrew was very grateful for the way Mia was wolfing down her dinner. It gave him more time to prepare himself inside for what he was about to tell her that night.

A little while later, after they were both finished eating, Mia patted her stomach and said, "Wow, Andrew. That dinner was really delicious."

Andrew smiled and said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I did! This was a really sweet surprise. Thank you."

In the moment she said that, Andrew realized that Mia still _didn't_ fully understand what was going on. He realized then that she had mistakenly believed that the roses and the candlelight dinner was just a nice surprise an old friend had conjured up for her out of kindness, perhaps a way to welcome her home from the hospital. And even though he wanted to continue putting off telling her the full truth, he knew that he couldn't do that any longer. As frightening as it was, he _had_ to put his heart out on the line and let the chips fall where they may.

Andrew locked his eyes with Mia's a second later and told her, "Mia, the roses I gave you…and this candlelight dinner…all of it was more than just a friendly little surprise. I meant for this night to actually be a…romantic occasion."

"A romantic occasion?" Mia repeated in utter disbelief.

"Yes, that's right. Oh Mia, I may as well come right out and say it. I know there weren't any 'sparks' between us as you put it back when we were engaged all those years ago, but for me, things have really changed. I've fallen in love with you, Mia. I've been in love with you for _years._ I just didn't tell you because I knew you didn't share those feelings. As a matter of fact, I know you still don't. The purpose of this dinner is so I can ask you to give me a chance. I'm basically asking you for your permission to start courting you."

" _Courting me?_ " Mia said, once again in disbelief.

"Alright, I know 'courting' is a really old-fashioned term, but yes, that's basically what I'm talking about. I realize that back when we were engaged, Nicholas Devereaux put far more effort into showing you how much he cared for you than I did. I realize that I didn't even try to win your heart the way I should have. Well now, I want to start trying. I want you to let me start taking you places and doing things with you, not as friends, but as a couple. Let me prove to you just how much I love you, Mia," he said so softly. Then he reached across the table, took her hand in his, and added, "Please."

Mia's face really softened when Andrew said that, and she responded, "Andrew, you don't have to prove anything to me. I know how much you care about me."

During the next several moments, there was a long, uncomfortable silence between the two as Mia debated it inside as to how to handle this. Mia had made up her mind years ago that she was going to remain single for the rest of her life, and to that very day, she was still completely uninterested in the thought of getting into any kind of romantic relationship with a man. She was perfectly happy with her life the way it already was. It was true that she did get lonely sometimes, but for the most part, she was satisfied with being a daughter, a granddaughter, a co-parent to Isaac, a future mother to Gracie, a big sister to Trevor, and a queen, and she didn't want to change things.

However, as she looked into Andrew's handsome, sweet, hopeful face, she just _couldn't_ bring herself to tell him that and break his heart. Andrew really was _such_ a kind, gentle, loving man and a very dear friend to her, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. So hesitantly, she told him, "Give me some time, Andrew. Let me think about it."

Andrew smiled and said, "Of course. You just take as much time as you need. In the meantime, come over here with me for a second. I have one last little surprise for you tonight."

Mia laughed a little nervously and said, "Oh, my. What now?"

"You'll see," said Andrew as he walked a few steps away from the table with Mia, carrying the brown leather bag over his shoulder. A moment later, he set the bag down on the ground and took out a CD player, and he pressed the play button. Suddenly, the song _Unforgettable_ by Nat King Cole started filling the air, which was one of Mia's favorite songs ever.

"Oh, my goodness!" Mia said with a surprised laugh.

"May I have this dance?" asked Andrew.

"Of course," Mia replied with a smile, and then the couple started dancing to the music. And as they danced over the next couple of minutes, something very unexpected – and very uncomfortable – started happening to Mia. All of the emotions she'd managed to shut herself off from for the past several years began coming to the surface. She'd known for quite a long time that her feelings for Andrew were very different now than they had been back when they'd first met. They were much closer and their feelings for one another undoubtedly ran much deeper now than they had in the beginning. There had been a small part of her deep down over the years that had sometimes fantasized about what it would be like to be in a romantic relationship with him, but she'd managed to shut those thoughts and feelings down in the past, not wanting to take any more chances with her heart or make any changes to her life. But now, suddenly, as she was in his arms, looking into his eyes and dancing with him to one of her favorite love songs, she was having a much harder time shutting those thoughts and feelings down, and it started to scare her.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Clarisse was in her suite, and she too was dancing, only with Joseph, of course. While Clarisse had been one of the people in on Andrew's little scheme to surprise Mia with a romantic dinner, she had become quite frustrated earlier that evening when the chef also prevented _her_ from getting supper. However, she was pleasantly surprised when she found out that after they'd gotten Isaac settled into bed for the night – in one of the guest suites – Joseph had also made plans for a little late romantic candlelight dinner of his own with her.

"Joseph, I don't know what to say," Clarisse said with a laugh as he held out one of the two chairs at their small table for her to sit down, and then she took her seat. "You really outdid yourself this evening."

"Well, my dear," he said as he sat down across the table from her, "things have been so hectic here lately and it really has been too long since you and I have done something special together, just the two of us."

"Life is _always_ hectic when you're raising an eight-year-old." Isaac wasn't quite eight years-old yet, but it was April now and he was going to turn eight and Mia was going to turn thirty on the fourteenth of June.

"Yes, that's true. Life never really turns out the way you plan, does it? I had believed that these past nine years you and I have been married would have been spent by the two of us simply relaxing and enjoying our retirement." That got a sarcastic chuckle out of Clarisse. "Instead, we've spent them changing diapers, mopping up drool, dealing with temper tantrums, bandaging scraped knees, putting our son in time-out and taking away various privileges whenever he gets into trouble – which is _always_ – and dealing with our resulting headaches."

"Uh huh," Clarisse said with another laugh.

"But you know something, darling? These past eight years that we've spent changing diapers, mopping up drool, dealing with temper tantrums, bandaging scraped knees, and handling Isaac whenever he gets into trouble – which again, is _always_ – have been the happiest years of my entire life."

"Oh Joseph, they've been the happiest years of my life, too," Clarisse beamed at him, and he smiled back at her and reached across the table and took her hand in his. "You know, back when Pierre and Philippe were little, of course, I made certain to spend as much time with them as I possibly could, but you know that when they both turned six years-old and it was time to put them in school, Rupert absolutely insisted that we ship them away to his old boarding school, the same boarding school where generations of Renaldi royals had always gone. Naturally, because I was a woman and because I was only royal by marriage, I didn't have the power or the authority back then that I needed to put my foot down and say no. Not even being their mother was enough by everyone's standards back in those days. And while I did do as much as I could for them while they were here, that blasted nanny Rupert always insisted on having around got in the way so much of the time, so really, I was never able to be the kind of mother to Pierre and Philippe that I'm able to be to Isaac now. To tell the truth, it makes me happier than ever that _I_ always got to be the one to change Isaac's diapers and feed him his bottles and mop up his drool when he was a baby, and it makes me happier than ever now that I get to be here to deal with the occasional temper tantrums and that I get to bandage his scraped knees. It even makes me happy to have to deal with him when he gets into trouble because, again, this time _I'm_ the one who gets to do it and not some nanny or boarding school."

"Well, like you said, you were there for them as much as you possibly could be under the circumstances. You bandaged Pierre's and Philippe's knees and you nursed them through colds whenever you could. But I know how much it hurt you to not be able to see them every day as they were growing up. I know how your royal position robbed you of so many things. You're absolutely right. You would _think_ being their mother would have given you all the authority you needed to say no and put a stop to Rupert shipping them off to boarding school when they were children, but sadly, it really was a man's world back in those days. Thankfully, though, a lot of things have really changed around here since then, and _no one_ is _ever_ going to keep you away from Isaac."

"I know," Clarisse said with a warm smile. Then she held up her glass, which Joseph had filled with champagne several minutes before, and she said, "Joseph, I'd like to make a toast."

"Of course," Joseph said, and then he held up his glass too, and he got up from his seat.

The next moment, Clarisse got up from her seat and walked over closer to Joseph and said, "Here's to you, me, and our son, and to almost nine wonderful years together."

Joseph smiled, and after he hooked his arm through Clarisse's, he said, "I'll drink to that." A second later, the couple each took a sip of champagne.

Then after enjoying a very pleasant dinner together, Joseph put on some nice soft romantic jazz music in the background and they danced for quite a long time before they eventually went to bed.

The next day, which was a Saturday, Lilly came to the palace to visit Mia, and they spent some time together in Mia's suite. Mia soon found out that Lilly had also been aware of Andrew's plans to take her out on a surprise date the night before, and as they sat together on the loveseat, her eyes bore into Mia's while she relentlessly hounded the poor young Queen for details.

"How was it, Mia? How was it?" Lilly questioned her while Mia hesitated.

"I don't know, Lilly. It was…a strange combination of things. It was nice. It was all very sweet. But it was pretty awkward, too. I happen to really like my life the way it is right now. I don't want to complicate things even more than they already are as a queen and an adoptive mother-to-be. But I knew that if I actually _told him that_ , it would break his heart. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him that that's how I really felt."

"Mia, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can't help but want to ask… _what's wrong with you?_ "

"What do you mean?"

"First Nicholas Deverat, then Jacques Beaumont. Why do you find jerks like them attractive? I mean, yeah, sure, they're hot and sexy-looking, but at the end of the day, if the man at your side isn't someone you can fully trust, what good is he? I'm not saying it's not important to take good care of your personal appearance, but you _cannot_ base an entire relationship on just that. What's going on with a man's heart is _so_ much more important than how sexy he looks. And in case you haven't noticed, Andrew is just as good-looking as Nicholas Deverat and Jacques, you know. So how come you get attracted to sexy-looking creeps like Nicholas Deverat and Jacques, but not to a sexy-looking man with a kind heart who obviously loves you like Andrew? I just don't get it. You've told me before how much it's always hurt you that no man has ever been willing to choose you, not even your own father. Mia, Andrew has left behind his country, his home, his family, and his military career to come live in Genovia, not to teach anthropology at Pyrus University, but to be near _you._ Your father may have chosen his country over you, but not Andrew. He chose _you_ over his country. He has shown _nothing_ but pure love and devotion to you. _How_ can you say no to something that wonderful?"

In the next moment, Mia had to wipe tears from her eyes. Lilly hated it that she'd brought her best friend to tears, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel irritated at her for making such stupid choices when in love. It simply made no sense to her and she couldn't understand it.

Finally Mia answered, "Because there's only so much I can handle at one time, Lilly. I have the weight of an entire country on my shoulders constantly, in case you hadn't noticed. On top of that, I have to make certain that I can balance all of my responsibilities as a queen with all of my responsibilities as a future mother to Gracie. In addition to making sure I don't let our country down, I have to make sure I don't let that precious baby girl down and even though I'm doing okay so far, I'm still terrified that I won't get it right; that I'll wind up making a terrible mistake somehow that'll leave her even more psychologically scarred than she already is. The _last_ thing I need in my life right now is to add even _more_ fear into the equation. I'm going through enough fear as it is. I _do not_ need the added complication of _yet_ _another_ relationship that is eventually going to blow up in my face just like every other relationship with every other man in my life has. I'm under a load that's already _more_ than heavy enough. _I am not_ adding more weight to that load, and as wonderful as Andrew is and as much as I do love him, a romantic relationship with him would just be more dead weight to me that _I do not need._

"When it comes to Nicholas Deverat and Jacques Beaumont, I chose them because I was immature and silly. More than anything else, I liked going out with them because in both cases, it gave me an adrenaline rush. I liked the risk. I liked the excitement. It was fun breaking the rules and going behind everybody's backs to date them. Of course today, I can see it for myself how childish and stupid it was, but back then, I was simply too immature to understand what bad choices I was making.

"But with Andrew, it's different. Believe me, Lilly, _I do know_ how wonderful he is. When he first came into my life, again, I was too immature to be able to fully appreciate him. I was stupid and judgmental of him. Even though it was wrong, I couldn't help but want to mentally compare him with Nicholas and whenever I did, I always came to the same conclusion that Nicholas was exciting and Andrew was boring. It wasn't until I _really_ got to know him after the engagement that I realized just how much depth there is to him and how special and incredible he is."

As Lilly saw the light in Mia's eyes in the moment she spoke that last sentence, it hit her.

" _You're in love with him!_ " Lilly shrieked.

"Lilly," Mia sighed, which only confirmed Lilly's suspicions.

"It's true, isn't it?! Deep down, you've really been in love with him all these years, just as much as he's been in love with you!"

"Lilly, stop it," Mia told her quietly as she got up from her seat and walked a few steps away from Lilly.

"I can't believe it! I can't believe I didn't see it until just now! You actually _have_ been in love with Andrew for ages now and you just wouldn't admit it to yourself!" Lilly cried out, and then she stood up as well.

Mia then turned around to face Lilly and folded her arms. "Yes, well, none of it matters anyway because it's not like it can ever actually work! A romantic relationship with Andrew is not an option for me, Lilly, no matter how much I do love him. And anyway, this entire conversation about Andrew is getting on my last nerve. _You_ are getting on my last nerve, so just cut it out!"

"I'm sorry, Mia," Lilly said as she approached her. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that I can't help but want for you the same kind of incredible relationship that I have with Kip and that Queen Clarisse has with Joseph."

"Yes, well, marriage isn't for everybody, Lilly. Not everybody can handle it."

"I know. And I know that it's really unfair the way that society tends to look down on people who prefer to remain single all their lives. I know if you decide to never give marriage a shot, that's your choice and not mine. But the thing is, you're my best friend and I've known you forever, and I really do believe that if you do decide to never try to give it a shot with Andrew or with any other man, it won't be because you're someone who isn't meant for marriage. It'll simply be because you're afraid.

"I know that after everything you've been through in your life, you can't help but be terrified of taking a chance and it ending with yet another rejection. I know that your entire life feels like it's been nothing but one giant rejection, starting with your own father. But just because things ended badly in your other relationships, it does not mean that that is automatically going to happen with Andrew. He left behind everything just to be near you, Mia. _Everything._ You're the only woman he ever thinks about, just like your grandmother is the only woman Joseph ever thinks about. I know that you think that a romantic relationship with Andrew would only add dead weight to the tremendous loads you're already carrying every day because you feel certain that a relationship with him or with any man would automatically be doomed to failure. But Mia, I believe with all my heart that if you will just give the two of you a chance, Andrew will make all your burdens _lighter_ , not heavier. I really am convinced that Andrew is literally _the last_ person on the planet who would ever do anything to hurt you, and I'm equally convinced that Andrew could very well be one of the best things that's ever happened to you, just like Kip is one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

"I don't know, Lilly," Mia sighed. "I just don't know if I'm ready for something like that right now, or if I'll _ever_ really be ready for it. Anyway, like I eventually told Andrew last night, I'll have to take some time to really think about this."

"Well don't make him wait too long. He _has_ been waiting for you for a lot of years already, you know."

"Actually, I _didn't_ know that until last night. I know that the media has certainly made a lot of speculation about Andrew having feelings for me ever since he moved to Genovia nearly seven years ago, but until Andrew told me what his true feelings were last night, I never took any of it seriously."

"Well it _is_ true, Mia. He _does_ love you, and don't try to deny it that you love him too because we both know you do. And a love like Andrew's is _not_ something that comes along every day, so just be sure you don't take it for granted."

" _I don't_ take it for granted, Lilly, and I don't take Andrew for granted either."

"I'm not saying that you do. I'm just reminding you not to. I'm just saying that it wouldn't be fair of you to expect Andrew to always be there waiting for you to make up your mind for the whole rest of his life. What happened with your cancer diagnosis several years ago reminded all of us how precious life really is. Just like all the rest of us, Andrew's not going to be around forever, and he has needs too. I'm just trying to remind you to be sensitive to that."

"I get what you're saying and I agree that Andrew has needs too, and _yes, I am_ going to remember to be sensitive to that and not keep him waiting forever. _I was never_ going to keep him waiting forever, Lilly, so please be fair to me and give me a little credit. But I really do need to take some time to sort all of this out in my head first."

"I understand. I know that if you go through with this, it'll be a pretty big step for you."

"And considering everything else I have to deal with on a daily basis, I need to make absolutely certain it's a step I'm ready to take."

"I know you're really scared, but I think that way deep down, you're a lot more ready for this than you think," Lilly stubbornly insisted, which again, really got on Mia's nerves. Yeah, Lilly was Mia's best friend and had been for most of her life, and they had literally grown up sharing all the details of their lives, even the most personal ones, with each other. However, Mia sometimes had moments like these when she wished there was more of a sense of boundaries in her friendship with Lilly. Mia knew, of course, that Lilly never meant to be nosey and drive her crazy. It was never on purpose. It was just Lilly's style. Whenever Lilly felt strongly about something that Mia was hesitant about, it was simply her nature to want to push Mia into it because she felt so certain it was the best thing for her to do. More often than not, whenever Lilly acted that way, she ended up being in the right about it, but Mia still wished sometimes that she would be more respectful of her privacy and let _her_ come to her own conclusions for herself without Lilly pushing her into anything. As much as she did love Lilly and respect her opinion, quite frankly, there were some things in life that were simply none of her business, and this was one of them – even if she _was_ right.

One day about two weeks later in mid-April, Andrew made one last check of things. He'd already put his carry-on bag and the smaller pieces of luggage in his car, and the two largest rolling suitcases were still sitting in the doorway of his house, ready to be loaded along with everything else. Rain was really pouring that day, and the weather outside perfectly matched how Andrew was feeling inside.

He was just about to take the last of the luggage out to the car when he heard the sound of a car pulling up in his driveway. He looked out the window and saw that it was a black SUV he didn't recognize, and he couldn't help but feel a great deal of irritation. He didn't know who this stranger was or what he or she wanted with him, but whatever it was, he was _not_ in the mood to deal with it now. When the doorbell rang a few seconds later, Andrew let out a sigh of frustration, but then he regained his composure like the gentleman he was and opened the door – and much to his surprise, he immediately saw that it was Mia standing outside underneath a green, white, and blue umbrella that Lionel was holding over their heads.

"Mia," Andrew gasped. Even though they'd been such close friends all these years, it was still a pretty rare thing for the Queen of Genovia to come visit him at his house in person. It had always been much easier for Andrew to simply come to the palace to see her over the years.

"Hi, Andrew," Mia responded, obviously feeling kind of awkward.

"I'm terribly sorry. I'm forgetting my manners. Please, please come in."

"Thank you," said Mia.

"I appreciate the invitation, sir, but I'll just go and wait outside in the car," said Lionel.

"Are you sure? You're more than welcome to come inside," Andrew said, but it was only to be polite. In truth, he really would have felt much more comfortable talking inside alone with Mia.

"No, thank you. That's fine. I'll just wait in the car," Lionel insisted, much to Andrew's relief.

"Very well," Andrew said, and then once Mia was inside, he shut the door as Lionel headed back out to the car to give them the privacy they needed.

As soon as Andrew let Mia inside, she instantly spotted the luggage standing in the entrance hall, and she got a sinking feeling.

"What's the luggage for?" she asked.

"Why don't you come into the kitchen with me for a minute or two so we can talk?" Andrew suggested, and Mia could tell from his serious tone of voice that this was _not_ going to be good news. Even though Andrew was typically a very handsome guy, today, his eyes were bloodshot and he even looked as if he'd been crying. Mia was really worried.

"Okay," Mia said quietly, and then she followed him into his kitchen.

"Whose car is that, by the way?" Andrew asked as they walked together, and again, it was another indicator to Mia that this was _not_ good because she knew better than anyone that whenever Andrew had anything tough he needed to say to someone, he always nervously made small talk first.

"It's Lionel's," Mia answered as they entered the kitchen, which had matching white counters and cabinets with a white stove and white refrigerator, as well as a small round table with four chairs around it. After Andrew held out one of the chairs for Mia and she sat down, she explained, "After what happened the last time we saw each other, I wanted to come and talk to you in person, and once Shades, Lionel, and I all discussed it, we decided it would be best to take Lionel's car. If we used one of our typical vehicles, the press and the paparazzi would be swarming around us, and I don't want the media making a big fuss over me coming here to see you."

"Got you," Andrew told her after he sat down across from her.

"So anyway, you were going to tell me about the luggage. What's up? Where are you going?"

"Ah, yes. Um…well, Mia, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it: something's happened and I'm leaving Genovia and going back to my family's home in Britain. Indefinitely. I've resigned my position at Pyrus University, effective immediately, and I honestly cannot tell you when I'll be able to come back to Genovia."

To say the very least, Mia truly felt as though Andrew had just kicked her in the stomach. She was devastated.

Mia spent the next several uncomfortable moments fighting off tears, and then when she could actually bring herself to speak again, she asked, "What's happened?"

"My parents were in a terrible car accident last night. They had a head-on collision with a drunk driver."

Mia responded by reaching across the table and taking Andrew's hand in hers. "Andrew, I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. How bad is it?"

"My father's in a coma. It's too early to say how it's all going to turn out with him but according to the tests they've done so far, there's very little brain activity. It doesn't look good."

"Oh, God," Mia whispered as she squeezed Andrew's hand. "And your mom?"

"All of the trauma to her head caused her to suffer a stroke. She's been in and out of consciousness all night. And very early this morning, she regained consciousness for several minutes, and she was actually alert enough to have one of the nurses call me. We had a brief conversation before she lost consciousness again."

It was no secret to Mia that Andrew had never really been close to either one of his adoptive parents. He had admitted it to her over the years that his adoptive father was almost never at home because he'd always been too busy with his business – or with chasing after other women – and consequently, by the time Andrew was grown, he barely even knew the man at all. And he'd also admitted to Mia that his adoptive mother had been an impossible woman to get very close to and had had equally little interest in having a real relationship with him. While Susan Hurst was certainly a cultured, sophisticated, well-to-do socialite in British high society, none of that changed the fact that the woman was practically an iceberg. All throughout Andrew's life, she'd rarely shown him very much compassion. Susan Hurst's life was never one that had revolved around love, but rather, around rules, and that was always the attitude she'd shown to Andrew. Susan had always acted as though she would only be willing to have anything to do with Andrew at all as long as he lived up to her expectations, and that was something that had constantly stuck with him over the years.

But something unbelievably strange happened when Susan had called Andrew on the phone that morning. As much as it shocked Andrew, Susan almost sounded like a frightened child when she'd talked to him. For the first time in his life, she'd actually sounded… _human._

"How was she?" asked Mia.

"She was _scared_ , Mia. It was unbelievable. For the first time ever, she actually sounded scared to me. She sounded like a terrified little girl who was lost in the woods alone at night. I have to go to her."

"Well of course you do. I just don't understand why you feel it's necessary to quit your position at Pyrus University. You know they'll be understanding about your circumstances and give you time off."

After letting out a sigh, Andrew explained, "Her grandmother, my adoptive great-grandmother, spent the last few years of her life in a nursing home. She hated it there. She was miserable, and seeing her there in so much physical and emotional pain was something Mummy was never able to forget. I think that deep down, it's always been her deepest fear that one day, she'd eventually die alone and miserable in some lonely nursing home somewhere, just like her own grandmother did. When she talked to me this morning, Mia, she _begged_ me to come back home and take care of her so that that wouldn't happen to her. We may never have been very close. Heck, we may not even like each other very much, but it would still be cruel and inhumane for me to deny her request."

"I know," Mia said as she locked her eyes with his.

"Before I go, though, I just want to say that I hope you'll just forget that crazy date I took you on. The whole thing was stupid. _I_ was stupid. I was just trying to impress you by taking a page of out Nicholas Deverat's playbook."

Those words ripped Mia's heart in two, and it now clearly showed on her face.

"Oh," she said quietly. "So that means you didn't mean what you said?"

"Oh, no. I meant every word. But your hesitation to say yes that night and your silence over the past two weeks spoke volumes to me, Mia. I know it now that you'll never feel the same way about me that I feel about you. That whole surprise date thing was just a ridiculous idea and the only thing it accomplished was making us both feel terribly uncomfortable. I think it's best if we just forget that that entire incident ever happened."

Mia shook her head and told him, "I don't think we _can_ forget about it, Andrew. And I don't think we _should_ forget about it, either. Andrew, it's a _good_ thing that you finally told me how you really felt because the truth is, deep down, I've felt the same way for several years now. I just couldn't bring myself to admit it because I was so scared. In case you haven't noticed, relationships with the men in my life almost never work out very well. I usually end up getting rejected and for the longest time, I couldn't help but believe that if you and I were to ever end up a couple again, that relationship, too, would inevitably end up in rejection like all my others have.

"But then my stubborn, nosey, pushy, irritating, highly intelligent, compassionate, and wonderful best friend Lilly said something to me a little while back that really got me thinking."

"She has a way of doing that," Andrew observed as he thought back to the conversation they had in the hospital.

"No kidding," Mia agreed. "Anyway, she reminded me of all the incredible things you've done for me over the years – things no other man has _ever_ done for me before, not even my own father. For nearly seven years, you gave up your military career, your home, even your country, just to be near me here in Genovia. No man has _ever_ loved me that much before. You are the most beautiful man I have ever known, and the worst part of it is, I think I ended up taking you and all the wonderful things about you for granted all these years, without ever realizing it or meaning to."

"Well you _are_ a reigning queen, you know. You do have a lot on your mind," Andrew kidded, but in reality he knew better than most how true that statement actually was. Mia had far more on her shoulders every single day as Queen than most people could even imagine.

Mia laughed quietly for a second and said, "But anyhow, the bottom line is, _I do love you_ , Andrew William Jacoby. With all my heart. I've been in love with you for a long time, and I don't want to hide from those feelings any longer out of fear. And I had Lionel bring me here today because I was going to tell you that the answer to your question is _yes._ I do want us to start 'courting' or 'dating' or whatever you want to call it.

"But first, I know you have to go and be with your parents. I know that's what's most important right now. No matter how long you have to be gone, though, I'll wait for you. I want you to know that."

Tears were now freely flowing from Andrew's eyes as he said, "Mia, it could be _years_ before I'll be able to come back to Genovia. God, Himself only knows what's going to happen with my father and especially with my mother. She could need me to take care of her for a very long time."

Again, she squeezed his hand and told him, "I realize that, and I don't care how long it takes. You waited for me for many years. Now, if you need me to wait years for you, I will. Lilly reminded me of the fact that you have needs, too, and she was right. You've always been there for me whenever I've needed you. Now it's my turn. I love you more than anything, Andrew, and no matter what happens in England with your parents, I'll always be here for you in Genovia."

"I don't know what to say," Andrew gasped.

"It's okay, Andrew. You don't have to say anything," Mia said as she got up from her seat. Then she held out her arms and told Andrew, "Just come here."

Andrew quickly got up and walked into Mia's embrace. He kissed her cheek, and then he just held onto her for the longest time, and she him, as silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I just can't believe this is happening," he said quietly.

"I know, but it's going to be okay. Everything will be alright," Mia said softly as she rubbed his back.

A couple of moments later after Andrew caught his breath, he still stood there with Mia with his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him and looking down into her face. Then suddenly, Mia surprised him with the biggest, most incredible kiss of his life. As Mia started kissing him with fervor, he returned the kiss with an equal amount of passion.

The first time they'd kissed all those years ago, Mia had been right when she'd said that there hadn't been any sparks. And there weren't any sparks in this kiss between them now, either. This was something that ran much, _much_ deeper than mere sparks. This was _passion._ This was _commitment. Mia loved this man._ With Michael, it had been puppy love. With Nicholas, she had mistaken infatuation for true love. And she'd really only wanted to be with Jacques because having a hot, sexy French boyfriend like him had made her feel more confident in her own womanhood after going through her hysterectomy and surgical menopause. But what Mia was experiencing with Andrew now was far different from anything else she'd ever had with any other guy before him, and she knew beyond a doubt that he felt the same way about her.

As for Andrew, obviously, he'd been waiting for this moment for _years_. Although the timing of the kiss was awkward given everything else that was going on in his life right now, he didn't hesitate to drink in Mia's love like a man dying of thirst in the desert would guzzle down water in an oasis. Things were crazier and more messed up than ever in his life, but yet, he knew it now that with Mia's love, he could handle anything life threw at him.

Several long moments later, the kiss finally ended, and both Andrew and Mia had to take a second to really catch their breath. It had really left their hearts racing.

Finally, Andrew said, "Mia, I'd give anything if I could just stay here with my arms around you forever. But I have to go now. I really do."

Mia nodded and said, "I understand. Listen, why don't we put all your things into Lionel's car and have him drive us to the airport together?"

Andrew shook his head and explained, "If I were to let you come with me to the airport, I'd never be able to leave. It's best if we say goodbye here."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

Andrew nodded and told her, "It's for the best."

"Okay," Mia whispered, and then once again, she gave him another long, passionate kiss.

It was hard for both of them, but they eventually forced themselves to let each other go. Mia then helped Andrew load his last two rolling suitcases into his car, and after one last kiss, Andrew got into his car and Mia got into Lionel's.

For the next few moments, Mia simply sat next to Lionel in the front seat of his car in utter silence, with tears quietly streaming down her cheeks.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" asked Lionel.

Before Mia could answer, Andrew surprised both of them by suddenly getting out of his car again. Mia didn't hesitate to get out of Lionel's SUV, and they quickly ran into each other's arms and kissed once again in the pouring rain. This kiss was even longer and more passionate than the ones before, and although the couple was clearly getting soaked, neither one of them cared.

Once the kiss finally came to an end, Mia looked up into Andrew's eyes and said, "I don't know how I'll swing it, but _I will_ find a way to get out of all my other duties here for a while and _I will_ come to see you soon. Very soon."

"I'll call you and e-mail you and text you every day, Mia. Every day."

"I know you will. And I'll call and e-mail and text you, too, just as often as I possibly can."

"I know."

"I'll think of you every second, Andrew."

"I'll always be thinking about you, too. I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too, but this is going to work out. You're going to be okay. After all, God's brought us this far, hasn't He?"

"He has," Andrew agreed as he nodded. "Pray for them, Mia."

"I'll pray for _all_ of you."

After gazing into her beautiful eyes for another long moment, Andrew finally said, "Alright, Mia, uh…as much as we don't want to, we really do have to say goodbye now before you catch pneumonia again."

Mia shook her head and said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You just take good care of yourself now, huh?"

"I will. You too. I love you, Mia."

"I love you too, Andrew."

After one long final hug, the couple tore themselves away from each other at long last and left Andrew's house.


	36. Frogs and Stink Bombs

**Note to readers:** Once again, I am **so** sorry it has taken me this long to update. Shortly after I posted my last chapter of _Cherished_ , I became ill for quite a while and I've been recovering. I've also had another story in another fandom that I've been working on. Sometimes crazy stuff happens and life gets in the way, but I assure you I haven't forgotten you. To everybody who has supported this story, I just want to say thank you so much. I appreciate you all. I hope everybody enjoys the chapter.

 **Chapter 36: Frogs and Stink Bombs**

"So did you get them?" Isaac asked his best friend Jimmy on the playground of their school at recess.

"I got them," Jimmy answered, and then he took the box out of his pocket and handed it over to Isaac. Jimmy Hughes was a nine year-old black boy who was a little taller than Isaac and wore glasses, and they'd been best friends – and partners in crime – ever since they started primary school at their private school in Pyrus together at age five.

"Thanks, Jimmy," Isaac said as he smiled down at the box of tiny vials.

"Stink bombs in the palace. That's got to be a first!"

"I really wish your aunt and uncle weren't coming to your house for a visit this afternoon," Isaac complained. "If they weren't, you could come home from school with me and watch the whole thing play out."

"I don't know what I'm going to hate missing the most: the stink bombs, or those frogs you're going to turn loose on everybody. You still have them hidden away, right?"

"Sure do," Isaac said with a smug grin. The day before, he'd snuck a few frogs out of the biology lab and carried them home in his backpack. They'd been hidden away ever since, while Isaac waited for the right time to carry out his latest prank. "They're in a big box in my closet. I left them there before I came to school this morning."

"Like I said, I really hate it that I'm going to miss it."

"Don't worry. I'll record the whole thing on my cell phone so you can see what happens."

"Cool," Jimmy said with a smile, and then the bell rang, signaling that they had to return to class.

And true to his word, later that afternoon after school, Isaac had his cell phone with him and started recording as he snuck into Mia's suite, carrying the large box from his closet. (He'd been able to sneak in due to the fact that the guards stationed outside Mia's suite were in between shifts.) Mia was sitting at her desk, discussing something with Brigitte and Brigitta, and Isaac knew it was the perfect opportunity to unleash his latest dose of mayhem.

As the ladies were talking, Isaac set the box down on the floor, and then he pulled the stink bombs out of his pocket and threw the tiny vials on the floor, one by one.

"Oh!" Mia suddenly cried out as she grabbed her nose. "What is that revolting smell?!"

"I don't know, Your Majesty," said Brigitte as she and Brigitta held their noses, too.

"It's awful!" cried Brigitta.

In the next moment, Isaac opened up the box and turned the frogs loose. He was in the small foyer of Mia's suite, covering his mouth so nobody would hear him cracking up as he recorded the women screaming with his cell phone.

A few seconds after the frogs had started jumping about all over the place, Mia and her lady's maids quickly surmised who was behind the prank.

"Isaac!" Mia yelled the second she looked down on the floor and saw the stink bomb vials, and then Isaac immediately opened the doors to Mia's suite and took off running down the hall. Mia quickly ran after him. Clarisse also happened to be walking down the hall at that moment, and when she saw her son darting out of Mia's suite, she instantly knew something up.

Isaac bumped into his mother then and said, "Excuse me, Mom. I've got to go!"

"Isaac Romero, get your butt back here!" Mia's voice called as she chased him.

That caused Clarisse to put her hands on her hips and say, "Alright, Isaac, _what_ have you done now?"

"I'll tell you what he's done. He's just unleashed a bunch of frogs and stink bombs in my suite!"

" _Frogs and stink bombs?_ " Clarisse said incredulously. "Isaac, _why_ would you unleash frogs and stink bombs in Mia's suite?"

After a couple of moments of silence, Isaac looked up at his mother, shrugged, and said, "Because it's funny?"

Clarisse rolled her eyes, and then she told her son, "Isaac, go to your room. _Now._ "

"But Mom…" he whined.

" _Now_ ," Clarisse insisted.

Isaac then let out a sigh and reluctantly turned around and walked to his room.

"My suite smells _awful_ , Grandma," Mia complained.

"Don't worry, dear. Brigitte and Brigitta can simply spray some air freshener."

"I don't think there's enough air freshener in the entire country of Genovia to get rid of _that_ stink!" Mia grumbled.

Clarisse simply shook her head at her son's foolishness, and then she went to find Joseph.

Joseph was hanging out with the boys in the security hub when Clarisse came walking in, and the instant he saw the look on his wife's face, he knew Isaac had been up to no good.

Joseph rose from his seat in that moment and asked, "What's he done now?"

"Today, _your son_ has decided to unleash frogs and stink bombs in Mia's suite."

"Frogs and stink bombs?"

"Frogs and stink bombs."

Joseph let out a long sigh, rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "I'll go and talk to him. Where is he?" he asked.

"I sent him to his room."

"I'm on my way," said Joseph as he started walking out of the security hub. "Frogs and stink bombs," he muttered to himself in disbelief.

A couple of minutes later, Joseph walked into Isaac's room. Isaac was sitting on the side of his bed, and Joseph sat down beside him. Clarisse showed up a few seconds later and stood in front of the bed with her arms folded across her chest.

"Aw, c'mon, guys. Don't give me a hard time about the prank. It was funny!" said Isaac.

"Funny or not, _why_ did you feel it was necessary to drop stink bombs and release a bunch of frogs in Mia's suite?" asked Joseph.

"Mom, Dad, you know how it is. Whenever I play a prank, everybody gets annoyed at me at first, but a few hours later, we crack up over it. Mia may be mad at me now, but in a little while, she'll be laughing."

"That's not the point, Isaac," Clarisse told him.

"Actually, Mom, _it is_ the point. You guys know how down in the dumps Mia's been, especially since Andrew's dad passed away." Andrew had left for England six weeks ago, and two weeks after he left Genovia, his dad died. Since then, his mother had been deemed well enough to leave the hospital, but she still needed round-the-clock care, so he was now living in their family home in Britain and was taking care of her at home. When Andrew's father passed, it had hit him kind of hard even though they were never close, and that in turn had affected Mia, too. "The whole palace knows that Mia and Andrew are a couple now," Isaac continued, "and it's obvious how much she misses him. Mia needs a good laugh right now."

Clarisse and Joseph looked at each other knowingly, and then Clarisse said, "I understand that you had good intentions, but this wasn't the best way to go about the task of cheering Mia up."

"Why not? A good prank never hurt anybody."

"Son, I know that you meant well, but your mother's right. I understand you wanting to cheer Mia up, but what you did was not appropriate. She's the Queen."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Isaac asked innocently.

"Isaac, there's something you have to understand. Mia is the queen of our country. She's our ruler. She works very hard every day to take care of all Genovians, including us. And because she's constantly working so hard to care for us, we must always be careful to show her the proper respect," Clarisse explained.

"And that includes respecting everything that belongs to Mia, like her suite," Joseph added. "It wasn't very nice of you to stink her suite up like that."

"Okay, guys. Okay. I won't prank Mia anymore," Isaac told them. _For a while_ , he then thought to himself.

"Okay," said Clarisse.

"Hey listen, if you want to do something to cheer Mia up, why don't you go out with your mom into her rose garden and you two pick out some roses to give to her? I'm sure that'll make her pretty happy," Joseph suggested.

"Why, yes. That's a lovely idea, Joseph. Come along, Isaac," Clarisse told her son as she held out her hand to him, and then Isaac got up from the bed and took her hand and walked out into the rose garden with her.

When Clarisse and Isaac returned with a bouquet of roses for Mia a little while later, it did in fact go a long way towards improving her mood. She even had a good laugh with Isaac about the prank, although she was _not_ pleased with the way her suite still smelled. She, Brigitte, and Brigitta had sprayed a ton of air freshener, which did help a lot, but there was still a little bit of a lingering stink in the air. Fortunately, Brigitte and Brigitta quickly opened the windows and let out all the frogs, so at least that particular issue had been taken care of.

Later that night, long after everybody had gone to bed, Gracie woke up from a nightmare and walked down the hallway to Mia's suite. At the same time, Mia, who was also having trouble sleeping, decided to get up and go downstairs to the kitchen for a little midnight snack. Just as Mia was about to leave her suite, she overheard one of the guards outside her door trying to stop Gracie from coming inside.

"I want Mia," the little girl's tiny voice said. She was wearing the most adorable lavender silk pajamas, and as always, she had her pink bunny cuddled close to her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Gracie, but Her Majesty is sleeping now. We don't want to disturb her, do we?" asked one of the guards.

"But I'm scared."

Mia immediately walked outside and told the guard, "It's alright. Let her in."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded, and then Gracie ran into Mia's suite.

Mia then firmly told both the guards, "Any time that Gracie wants to come in to see me, I want you to let her in. You are _not_ to send her away under _any_ circumstances. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly clear, Your Majesty," said the other guard, and then Mia turned around and went back into her suite to talk to Gracie.

By the time Mia reentered her suite, Gracie had jumped into Mia's bed. "Is someone in the mood for a slumber party tonight?" she teased, and then she got back in bed, too.

"I had a bad dream. I want to sleep with you," the child explained.

"Okay, sweetheart. That's fine. You can stay here tonight if want," Mia said, and Gracie responded with a nod.

After a few moments of silence, Gracie told Mia, "I want to stay here forever."

"You mean here at the palace?" asked Mia, and again, Gracie nodded.

"I don't ever want to go back to the home."

"You mean the children's home?" Mia inquired, and once again, Gracie nodded.

"I want to live here with you and Gamma Risse and Gampa Joe and Isaac and Brigitte and Brigitta forever and ever."

Mia smiled and said, "Oh, honey, we _always_ want you to live here with us. We would never send you back to the children's home unless _you_ decided you wanted to go back there. You can stay right here with us just as long as you want to."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks, Mia."

"Of course." Mia then began tenderly stroking Gracie's hair, and she told her, "Sweetheart, you have no idea how happy it makes all of us to have you here."

Gracie remained silent for several more seconds, and then she said, "I wish I'd had a nice mommy like you. But mine was all mean and scary." It had been a difficult concept for such a small child to grasp, but the social workers did eventually get it across to Gracie that her birth mother was gone and she'd never see her again.

Mia thought about it carefully for a minute, and then she cautiously said, "You know, Gracie, I can't do anything to change the way your first mommy was, and I'm so sorry that I can't. But I _can_ be your mommy now, if you'd like for me to."

A very long moment passed, and then eventually, little Gracie nodded. Mia nearly cried tears of joy when she did, and she pulled Gracie into her arms, kissed her cheek, and gave her the biggest, longest hug.

"You really want me to be your daughter, don't you?" the child observed, and Mia tearfully nodded.

"More than anything, Gracie. More than anything," Mia replied, and Gracie smiled. "You'll never know how happy you've just made me."

"I was never able to make my first mommy happy the way you are now," Gracie said seriously.

"That was _her_ fault, Gracie. _She_ was the one with the problem, _not you._ Don't you ever blame yourself for that, okay?"

"Okay."

"I can't wait to tell Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow."

"Will they be happy too?"

"Of course they will be. They'll be so happy to hear you're joining our family that they won't even know what to do with themselves."

"Will Andrew be happy?"

"He sure will be."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Mia giggled a bit at the child's question, and then she answered, "Yes, he's my boyfriend."

"Are you two going to get married someday?"

Again, Mia laughed, and she told Gracie, "We might, but it's really too early to talk about marriage. He's only been my boyfriend for six weeks."

"I hope you guys get married. I want Andrew to be my daddy one day," Gracie declared. It was no secret that she positively adored Andrew and vice versa.

"Well, first things first. Right now, I just want to think about doing all the things I need to do so that I can adopt you and officially become your mommy."

"What do you have to do?"

"I have to call the social workers at the children's home and let them know, and then I'll have to meet with them and sign some papers. And I'll also have to tell the press."

"You mean all those nosey people with cameras and microphones?"

Mia laughed once more, and she said, "I couldn't have put it better myself. Yes. I have to tell all those nosey people with cameras and microphones. It's kind of a big deal to the rest of the country since I'm the Queen."

Gracie got lost in thought for a minute, and then she asked, "It would make everybody sad if I didn't become a princess, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, sweetheart, nobody's going to be upset with you if you decide you don't want your title. We all understand how scary something like that can be, especially for a girl as little as you are."

"But you would all be sad if I wasn't the Princess, right?" Gracie persisted. Her tumultuous past had given her a profound sense of wisdom, and even though she was only five years-old, she could read people pretty well. And she had indeed sensed it from everyone that they would be disappointed if she decided one day to refuse her title.

"Gracie, you don't have to worry about that right now. One day, when you're old enough, you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to officially accept or reject your royal title. More than anything, we'll all just be so happy to have you in our family. That's all we really care about now. We can worry about the rest later."

"Is it true what everybody says, about how you'll need a princess to take your place one day?"

"It is true that there will come a time when I'll be too old to rule Genovia myself. And when that happens, yes, I will need a princess or a prince to take over for me. But Gracie, _I am not_ adopting you just because I'll need someone to rule Genovia for me one day. I'm adopting you because I love you and I want you to be my little girl more than anything in this world."

Gracie smiled and said, "I know. But I don't want a bad person to be in charge of Genovia after you get old. I've heard what everybody says about Nicholas Deverat."

Mia laughed out loud. "That's a little nickname we've come up with for him over the years, but it isn't very nice."

"Is he really a mean rat, though?"

"To be perfectly honest, _yes_ , he's quite a rat."

"And he'll rule after you abicate, right?"

" _Abdicate,_ " Mia corrected her with a smile. "I really don't think that Nicholas would be the one to take over the throne. I think that by then, one of his kids would be the one to rule."

"But we don't know if his kids would be good people or not. They might be mean, and if one of them took your place, it would hurt Genovia," the child accurately concluded.

"That is true. But my retiring from the throne is a long way off, sweetheart. Like I told you, we don't have to worry about this right now. I'm going to be taking care of Genovia for a very long time to come."

"Will you adopt other kids after me?"

"That may happen. I may want to adopt again in a couple of years or so. That is, if you have no objection."

"I have no objection," said Gracie, trying to sound so much like a grown-up, which really made Mia smile once again at how cute and adorable she was being. "But if you don't adopt again, and if I don't become the Princess, Genovia might really be in trouble."

To say the least, Mia was really moved by the remarkable wisdom Gracie was showing, as well as her concern for others before herself. In some ways, it was almost like having a conversation with a tiny adult. The terrible way her mother had treated her had really caused her to grow up far before her time in a lot of ways.

"Genovia's going to be fine, Gracie," Mia assured her. "You don't have to worry about this right now, honey. You really don't. The only thing you have to do is go to school, learn, and just be a kid. Your biggest responsibility now is to grow from a child into an adult, and you don't have to do that all at once."

"I know. But I don't want Genovia to have a mean ruler after you abicate."

Mia stifled a laugh and again said, "Abdicate."

"Abdicate."

Mia gently pushed a couple of red curly locks of hair behind Gracie's ear and told her, "You are a very sweet little girl to be so concerned about your country like this, and I am so proud of you. But this is not something you have to worry about. We're going to figure all this out in time. I promise you."

"Do you think I can ever be as good a queen as you?"

"Oh, sweetie, if you became Queen someday, you'd be _better_ than me. You've only been around for five years, but in such a short time, you have already become the most amazing person I've ever met."

The child's face lit up like a Christmas tree then as she asked, "Really?"

"Absolutely."

"I'm still scared of being a princess, but I'll do it if you guys need me to. I don't want Genovia to have a mean ruler after you abdicate."

Mia gave Gracie the biggest hug, and then she said, "You have no idea how proud I am of you. You are _so amazing._ Do you hear me, Gracie? You are _amazing._ One day when you're a little older, if you still want to become the future Queen, Grandma Clarisse and I can give you princess lessons. Grandma gave me princess lessons when I was a kid, and she and I can teach you how to be a princess, too."

"Cool," said Gracie, and Mia smiled once more.

"But I meant what I've told you tonight. I don't want you to worry about Genovia right now. I just want you to be a kid. Alright?"

"Alright," Gracie agreed, and then she yawned.

"I think it's time we both tried to go back to sleep now," Mia told her.

"Okay. Goodnight, Mia."

"Goodnight, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too," Gracie said sweetly, and after planting a big goodnight kiss on her cheek, Mia turned out the lights.

When everybody in the palace heard about Gracie's decision the next day, there were shouts of jubilation amongst the staff. Joseph and Clarisse were so thrilled that they actually gave each other a big kiss in front of everybody, which of course didn't happen too often. And when Mia called Andrew on the phone and told him about it, he, too, let out an excited whoop.

People were happier, still, when Mia told them how she'd changed her mind about becoming a princess. When Mia told Clarisse about the conversation they had the previous night, she was deeply moved by the child's sense of duty. Mia's lawyers had already succeeded in cutting through all the red tape months before, and the only thing that was required for Gracie to legally become Mia's daughter was for Mia to sign the paperwork. And because Parliament had already passed a motion which changed the law to allow an adopted child to inherit the throne, Mia knew that Gracie would officially become not only her legal daughter, but also the Princess of Genovia, as soon as she signed the papers. Obviously, the option was open for Gracie to one day reject her royal title if she chose, just as a biological prince or princess could, and Mia continued to make it clear to Gracie that she didn't have to make any big decisions about her future right away. Like Clarisse, Mia also deeply admired the remarkable sense of duty she had for someone so young, but she didn't want her to have to decide now whether to be the future Queen or not. As she told Gracie, she simply wanted her to enjoy being a kid and focus on growing up first and worry about being a princess later. Should Gracie decide later on that she was still interested in being the future Queen, Mia knew that she and Clarisse could teach her what she needed to know, and Gracie could then start making public appearances and begin taking on a more active role as Princess of Genovia. But even though Mia remained cautious about it, she had a strong gut feeling that Gracie would go on to be both a remarkable Princess and Queen of Genovia someday. Every time she looked at Gracie, she could just feel it inside that Genovia was indeed going to be in very good hands.

That Friday afternoon, Mia signed all the paperwork in her office, and Miss Grace Katherine Winters officially became Her Royal Highness Grace Katherine Renaldi, Princess of Genovia. The entire country of Genovia celebrated their new Princess that day, although no one celebrated more than the Queen, herself. A lot of pressure was put on Mia to give a royal ball at the palace to celebrate the event, but she refused because she knew the press was particularly anxious to put the little Princess in the national spotlight, and Gracie simply wasn't ready for that yet. There was a party at the palace that day to celebrate the adoption, but it was mostly confined to family friends and their kids, which was far more appropriate for Gracie. Lilly and Kip were there, and Mia's old friend Princess Asana even made an appearance, as well as her husband and little girl. Unfortunately, Mia's mother, stepfather, and little brother hadn't been able to come, nor had Andrew, but she did speak to all of them over the telephone, and they were all with Mia and Gracie in spirit.

Over the next two weeks, Mia cut down on her schedule as much as she could in order to spend some quality time with her new daughter. They spent a lot of time swimming, and whenever Gracie wasn't in the pool or playing outside in the warm June weather, she and Mia played games and played with dolls inside. It was, quite simply, the happiest Mia had ever been in all her life. There had been a bump or two in the road during the two weeks in which she'd taken a mini-vacation from her work. Gracie and Isaac had had a couple of spats which Mia, Clarisse, and Joseph had had to settle, but other than that, it was practically paradise.

However, there had been one important element missing from the equation: Andrew. It had now been over two months since they'd last seen each other, and even though she was overjoyed from the adoption, she still missed him terribly and vice versa. Therefore, she decided to do something about it. The Renaldis had a summer home in England that was actually in a town near Andrew's family home. What made it so difficult for Mia to go to England for a brief visit with Andrew was her unbelievably demanding schedule as Queen for one thing, and the impossible news media for another. That weekend, though, Mia was finally able to clear some time out of her schedule. And thanks to the Renaldis' various connections with people in pretty high places in the press, Mia was actually able to arrange a brief media "blackout," so to speak, in which she was able to "sneak" out of Genovia for the weekend without the press making a ruckus. It was reported that the Queen would be gone from the palace that Saturday and Sunday, but the press said that she was staying in their family's beach house in Mertz, _not_ in her family's summer home in England.

It was around eleven o'clock that Saturday morning when Mary, the maid who had been with the Hurst family for ages, knocked on the door of Andrew's room. Andrew had spent the morning feeding and caring for his mother, and she was now asleep in her room, so he was taking the time to get some paperwork done. He was sitting at his desk when he first heard the knock.

"Come in," he called.

"Sir, you should come out to the back garden," the short, plump, gray-haired lady told him.

"Why? What's going on?" asked Andrew.

"A surprise, sir," answered Mary.

"A surprise?"

"Yes."

"Good or bad?"

"Good, sir," Mary told him with a great big smile. "Very, _very_ good."

Andrew chuckled a bit, then set down the pen he'd been holding in his hand and got up and went downstairs. When he went out the back door and into the garden a few moments later, he looked around for a second or two, but he didn't see anything unusual. Their garden was absolutely gorgeous, overflowing with a rainbow of flowers and beautiful green trees, and it was indeed a lovely sight, but Andrew didn't see anything there to be surprised about.

But then all of the sudden, Mia jumped out from behind the huge oak tree in the center of the garden, and Andrew's heart stopped.

"Mia!" he gasped, and then she ran into his arms and kissed him for the longest time. "Mia, what are you doing here? How did you manage to get here without making a big splash in the press?"

"Let's just say that it pays to be royal. The Renaldis have a lot of old friends in high places in the media. I pulled some strings. Reporters back in Genovia are saying that I went to our beach house in Mertz for the weekend."

"Oh, Mia, you don't know how happy I am to see you," Andrew said lovingly. "You have no idea how much I've missed you." In the next moment, he planted a big kiss on her lips. Then they simply stayed in each other's arms and stared into each other's eyes for the longest time.

"Oh yes I do know, too. I've missed you just as much."

"Are you going to be here the whole weekend?"

Mia nodded and replied, "Uh huh. I'm staying in our family's summer home."

"You _did_ bring some guards with you, didn't you?"

"I thought _you_ could guard me," Mia teased, and Andrew laughed.

"I'd be happy to," he said seriously, and then the couple kissed a third time.

"All kidding aside, though, yes, Lionel and a few other guards came with me. They're hanging out in your lounge right now. Mary said it was alright."

"Oh yes, of course it's alright. Nothing's more important than protecting the Queen."

"I do feel a little bad that I basically lied to the entire country of Genovia, but I am _so_ happy I'm here."

"I'm even happier than you are. And yes, I know it's not right to lie, but you _do_ have the right to a little privacy every now and then, you know. You may be the Queen, but it's not always everybody's business where you go and why."

"That's true," Mia agreed.

"So how's Genovia's new Princess?"

"As sweet and adorable as ever. And even though I've only been away from her for a little while now, I already miss her _so much._ "

"I know the feeling. I've missed her like crazy these past two months. I can't wait to see her again. But, we can both relax because Princess Gracie is in the best possible hands with her Grandma Clarisse and her Grandpa Joseph. And, you and I are together now for an entire weekend, and we are going to enjoy every single second together. We are going to make every moment count."

"You got that right," Mia agreed, and once again, they shared a long, loving kiss.


	37. Miracles Still Happen

**Chapter 37: Miracles Still Happen**

Although Mia was careful during her stay in England that weekend, inevitably, the paparazzi found out she was there visiting Andrew, and it all came out in the press. Naturally, the tabloids claimed that the Queen of Genovia was in Great Britain visiting her "lover" for a "steamy sexual encounter," but everyone who knew Mia and Andrew personally knew better than to believe that. While society throughout the world may have been flippant about sexual encounters, Mia and Andrew were old-fashioned, committed Christians and proud of it, and they did not believe in sex outside of marriage. Regardless of whatever kind of disgusting smut the tabloids wanted to print about them, Mia's visit to Andrew that weekend was completely innocent. While Mia was obviously not happy about the tabloids and the press, though, it was undeniable that millions of people in dozens of different countries supported the young royal couple and were genuinely happy for them, and that really meant a lot to them.

But of all the support Mia and Andrew received over the next two years, none was more helpful to them than the support they got from Clarisse and Joseph. Andrew's mother's condition remained mostly the same for two more years, and Andrew stayed in their family home in Britain to care for her. The prolonged separation certainly wasn't easy on them, but Clarisse and Joseph were a constant source of love and encouragement for Mia and Andrew. And despite the fact that the press certainly did _not_ make it easy for either one of them to get away and visit the other, whenever they did, Clarisse and Joseph never hesitated to take care of Gracie for Mia so that she could spend plenty of time with Andrew.

Sadly, in early August of 2016, not long after Mia turned thirty-two, tragedy struck once again in Andrew's adoptive family. After being housebound and almost entirely helpless for over two years following her stroke, Susan Hurst passed away in her sleep. Losing the last of his adoptive family was naturally hard on Andrew even though he and his adoptive parents were never close, and as would be expected, Mia was there for him in every way she could be. She wanted very much to attend the funeral and be by his side, but she knew she couldn't because her presence there would instantly turn everything into a media circus, which of course was the last thing they wanted or needed. Instead, Mia spoke with Andrew several times throughout the day of his mother's funeral, both on their cell phones and on Skype, and although they both hated it that she couldn't be there in person, her presence over the phone and the computer was still extremely helpful to Andrew.

Shortly after his mother's passing, Andrew decided to sell the Hurst family home in Britain since he wouldn't be living there any longer. It took him about three weeks to sell the house and get all the other legal and financial affairs involved with his inheritance taken care of, and then finally, at long last, Andrew returned to Genovia. Fortunately, he had his house in Pyrus cleaned and aired out ahead of time before he came back so the place didn't smell musty, but it was hardly surprising that after his return to Genovia, he did _not_ spend a lot of time at home. Andrew had already frequently spent time with Mia at the palace back in the days when they were just friends with each other, but now, he was there more than ever. Naturally, when it came to Andrew's palace visits, the press didn't miss a beat, and just as it had been years before, the entire country of Genovia was holding its breath once again, waiting for a royal marriage proposal.

"I think it's ridiculous," Mia complained to Andrew one evening in mid-October as she held a popular Genovian tabloid magazine in her hands while sitting back with Andrew on the loveseat in her office. The magazine had Andrew's picture on the cover and a caption on the top that read: _Is Andrew Jacoby Trying Again?_ "You've barely been back five weeks after burying your mother and taking care of your estate back in England. Now it seems that the entire country of Genovia wants to pressure you into trying for another royal engagement with me. I can take it when the media picks on me. I've gotten used to it over the years. But it makes me so angry when they start in on you, especially now after all you've just been through."

Andrew already had his arm around Mia's shoulders, and after she said that to him, he gave her a kind, understanding smile, and then he leaned in and gave her a kiss. "Oh Mia, please don't worry. It's really not that big a deal. Besides, I knew all along what I was in for when I let you know that I was in love with you two years ago. I always knew that the press was going to be like this. It's okay. I can handle it. And besides, you and Gracie are worth it."

Mia returned the smile, and again, they kissed. Then she told him, "I know you _can_ handle it, Andrew. I just hate it so badly that you _have_ to now."

"I won't pretend that the press isn't an annoyance – a _huge_ annoyance – because it definitely is. But like I just told you, I knew all along that being in a relationship with you meant that I would have to put up with the press. I knew what I was getting into, and I can deal with it. I'm a big boy." Mia responded with a nod and another smile. "And besides," Andrew said as he took the magazine from Mia's hands, "you and I _are_ going to have to talk about this sooner or later, you know."

"About what? Us having another royal engagement?"

"Exactly. The rest of the country has already been talking about the subject for quite a while now. I think it's probably time that _we_ started discussing it. I realize I haven't been back in Genovia for very long, but Mia, I want you to know that I'm serious about this relationship. _About us._ I have been head over heels in love with you for _years._ I'm not saying I want us to get married tomorrow, but I do want you to know that I have every intention of marrying you someday."

"And I feel the exact same way. I love you, and I want very much for us to get married at some point in the future. I want for you, me, and Gracie to be a family. But now that I finally have you back here in Genovia, I _also_ want the two of us to simply have some time together as a couple in person. And after everything that's just happened to you, I want you to have a chance to just stop and relax. We can deal with all these other issues later. We don't have to deal with it all right here, right now."

"I hear what you're saying, and I agree wholeheartedly. I do want us to be able to just stop and catch our breath for a while. But I _also_ want to go ahead and start laying the groundwork for our future together, too."

"Laying the groundwork? What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking about what I want to do now that I'm back in Genovia. I may not need to earn a living financially speaking, but I hardly want to waste all my time doing nothing throughout the day. I want and need to find a constructive way to spend my time. I suppose I could try to go back to my old position at Pyrus University, but I'm not exactly thrilled with that idea. However, there _is_ one thing I would like to do that I think would be an important first step to take towards our future."

"What's that?"

"I'd like to join the Air Division of the Genovian Royal Guard. You know Genovia's history, Mia. You know that besides you, Genovia has had two other crown princesses that went on to become queens, and that they were both married to titled men from other countries who became officers in the Genovian Royal Guard. The man you marry should do the same. It's tradition. It's what all Genovians expect of the Queen's husband. When we were engaged the first time, there was always an understanding that once I was your husband, I would leave the Royal Air Force, renounce my British title, officially become a Genovian citizen, join the Genovian Royal Guard, and receive a Genovian title of some kind. Now you know that I personally don't care anything about titles, but you and I also know that when it comes to this issue, that is simply the way it has always been done; the way the country believes it _should_ be done. We both know that me becoming your husband means changing my nationality and my loyalties from Britain to Genovia, which I am more than happy to do. And besides, I've really missed serving as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. I certainly don't regret leaving my former military career behind to move to Genovia and be near you, of course, but it is true that I _have_ missed piloting a great deal."

"Well Andrew, if becoming a pilot in the Air Division of the Genovian Royal Guard is something that you really want to do, then I'm totally behind you. I don't want you to do this just because it's something the Genovian people expect of my future husband, though. I don't want you to do it to satisfy other people's expectations, and I don't want you to do it for me. I want you to do it for _you_ , because it's what _you_ want. I do care about my people, but I don't want you running your entire life based on their expectations of you. I don't want you worrying about titles or what other people want you to do. _It's your life._ You don't have to worry about ruling Genovia with me if you don't want to. I don't _have_ to be married to the Prince of Genovia. I would be perfectly happy being married to a civilian pilot or to an anthropology professor," Mia assured him as she reached out and gave his hand a loving squeeze.

Andrew smiled sweetly and responded, "I know that. And I know that you are a strong, independent woman and that you have _never_ needed a man at your side to be a great ruler. But no matter how outstanding of a ruler you are, it is _still_ one of the most stressful jobs there is on the planet, and I believe that it's only right for the man you marry to do everything he possibly can to support you and help make your daily burdens lighter. I can't do anything to help you with your burdens as Queen if I'm just living my life as a civilian pilot or an anthropology professor. I want to be involved in your life, Mia. I want to be involved in your _entire_ life, including your political life as a ruler. I want to do everything within my power to help you, whether it's making public appearances for you or being a person you can bounce things off of behind the scenes or handling a Parliament session for you every once in a while, or whatever. And again, I can't help you in all those ways if I'm just doing my own thing as a civilian pilot. I've been thinking about this for a long time and believe me, this is precisely what I want to do."

"As I said a couple of moments ago, I don't want you living your entire life based on other people's expectations of you. However, that being said, it is true that the husbands of both queens before me have only been able to share in the ruling aspect of their lives because they served in the Royal Guard and were granted Genovian titles. I guess the bottom line is, however you want to do this, I support you. If you want to just live your life as a civilian pilot and have nothing to do with Genovian politics, that is perfectly fine with me, regardless of what the rest of the country says. And if you want to serve in the Royal Guard's Air Division and eventually deal with ruling and politics after we get married someday, that's fine too. I'm in your corner either way."

"Thank you. I really do believe that this is the best way for us to proceed. I don't care about you granting me the title of Prince of Genovia, but _I do care about_ sharing your life – _all_ of your life – and about supporting you in every possible way."

Mia gave Andrew yet another warm, loving kiss, and then she said, "I do believe I am the most blessed woman on this entire planet."

"You may be right," Andrew teased, and then he planted another kiss on her lips.

"Anyway, enough talk about me and sharing my burdens. _You're_ the one who needs someone to share your burdens right now. You've really been through a lot the past couple of years you've been away. We need to start getting your mind off it all," Mia told him, and then she rose from her seat. Andrew then stood up with her as well and set the magazine down on the coffee table.

"Did you have something in mind?"

Mia then looked over at the portable stereo sitting on her desk and smiled. She often liked to play CDs of classical music in the background as she did all her paperwork in her office throughout the day because she found it to be very relaxing, and that in turn helped her stay focused. "As a matter of fact, yes, I did have something in mind," she answered, and then she looked through her CD collection in one of the lower cabinets behind her desk, found the CD she was looking for, put it in, and pressed play. The familiar notes of the song she'd first danced to with Joseph so many years ago filled the air. He'd danced with her to this song quite a few times when she was younger because she'd really needed the rehearsal.

"Beautiful music," said Andrew, and then Mia led him out by the hand to a more open area of her office where they would have more room.

"I realize it's only been a few weeks, Andrew, but still…I think you've been wearing dark colors too long." Andrew was now wearing a matching black dress coat and pants with a white shirt and a navy blue tie, and he'd been wearing similarly dark colors ever since his mother's funeral.

They shared a knowing smile, and Andrew agreed, "Yeah, you're probably right."

And in that next second, they began to dance. And unlike the first time when she'd danced this dance with Joseph as an awkward girl of fifteen, now, her moves with Andrew were considerably more graceful and refined. Mia was wearing a designer white blouse and light blue skirt, and she looked every inch a queen as she moved in concert with Andrew in the dance. She was clearly _not_ the same geeky, clumsy kid she'd been all those years before. Her appearance and her moves were in fact breathtakingly beautiful now. She was still a bit of a klutz and she did have her spills and accidents from time to time, but when it came to dancing, she had become as experienced, graceful, and elegant as her grandmother.

Unbeknownst to either Mia or Andrew, Clarisse and Joseph began walking into Mia's office in that moment, but when the older couple saw the younger couple dancing and how deeply engrossed they were in it, they immediately stopped dead in their tracks. They were both so very proud of Mia and how far she had come since she was a kid, and it showed on their faces as they watched her dance for a few silent seconds. As they watched them, they knew exactly what they were witnessing – a couple who was very much in love – and nothing could have made them happier. Clarisse and Joseph then looked into each other's faces and knowingly smiled, and as Charlotte had done dozens of times before over the years when she'd accidentally walked in on them dancing, Clarisse and Joseph now quietly backed out of the room to give the young couple some well-deserved privacy.

That was how it remained for Mia and Andrew over the next three months. They really did stop to catch their breath, as Andrew had said, and they spent a great deal of time together, thoroughly enjoying one another's presence. And with the full backing and support of the Royal Family, Andrew officially became a Genovian citizen and joined the Air Division of the Genovian Royal Guard just as he had discussed with Mia. Even though he did have to be away from time to time, thanks to his royal connections, he was often given assignments that were close to home so he was still able to spend plenty of time with both Mia and Gracie. Andrew was invited to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays as a guest at the palace, and he was more than happy to accept the invitation, of course. Mia, Andrew, and Gracie all had a completely wonderful time together, and Clarisse, Joseph, and Isaac really enjoyed having him around as well. Finally, in mid-January of 2017, the moment Joseph had been waiting for arrived. Andrew arrived at the palace one evening, but he wasn't there to see Mia. He was there precisely to have a man-to-man conversation with Joseph. He had phoned Joseph and arranged the meeting ahead of time, so when he arrived at the palace that evening, Joseph was already expecting him. As soon as Andrew got there, he invited him into his and Clarisse's suite for a private conversation.

"Hello, Andrew," Joseph told him as he shook his hand. "Please, come in."

"Thank you, sir," Andrew responded as he followed Joseph inside.

"Andrew, how many times have I asked you _not_ to call me 'sir'? You can call me Joseph. Even Joe, if you prefer."

"I'm sorry. I keep forgetting," he said as he followed Joseph into the living area of his suite and sat down on the couch with him. "And to be perfectly honest, you're the grandfather of the woman I love," Andrew told Joseph as he looked the older man square in the eyes. "For that reason alone, I can't help but want to be as respectful as possible."

Joseph's eyes remained locked with Andrew's as he said, "You know, Andrew, that is precisely what I've always liked about you. No matter what, you have _always_ treated my granddaughter with chivalry and respect. I have very high standards, and earning my trust is never an easy feat for any man, but when it comes to Mia, _you_ have earned my trust. You may very well be the only man on this planet I would ever trust with my granddaughter's heart. And unlike a couple of her previous boyfriends," he said with a groan, "you always understood that respecting a woman also means respecting her family. Unlike Nicholas and Jacques, there were never any headaches with you. Clarisse and I knew all along that we could trust you to look out for Mia's best interests no matter what. You don't know what that has meant to us."

"And you don't know what it means to me to hear you say things like that," Andrew said as his eyes remained locked with Joseph's, and Joseph smiled.

"I think I do."

"Why do I get the feeling that you already know what it is I've come here to discuss with you?"

"How do you think I became the Royal Head of Security for so many years? In my job with Royal Security, I learned early on how to read people pretty well. And the answer is yes."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I know that you're here basically to ask me for my granddaughter's hand in marriage. Obviously, it is up to Mia in the end, but whenever you decide that you want to propose to her, you have my full support. And I'm certain her grandmother feels the same way."

Andrew blew out a _very_ relived sigh, and then he said, "Wow. I don't know what to say. I simply cannot thank you enough, not only for your support, but also for making that so easy for me."

" _You're_ the one who made it easy, by being and _acting like_ a true man of God who is worthy of mine and my wife's and my granddaughter's trust."

"Thank you. That means everything. It really does."

"It's just the truth."

"It is true that I do have plans to propose to Mia in the future, but I didn't want to do it without discussing it with you first, man-to-man. I'd also like to discuss it with Queen Clarisse. I know you just said that she probably feels the same way you do, but I'd still like to speak to her about it in person, and to Mia's mother and stepfather, of course."

"Of course," Joseph concurred.

"I was thinking that after I spoke to the rest of the family about it, I would propose to Mia sometime this summer, and that we could officially announce our engagement to the public in September. Perhaps Mia would fancy a nice, romantic Christmas wedding."

"I'm sure she'd love it."

"If I had my own way, I'd propose to Mia tomorrow and marry her the day after, but I realize that becoming officially engaged to her so soon after my mother's death would be very bad form. I think that despite the fact we weren't close, it would still be only proper to wait at least a year after her passing before Mia and I announce to the public that we're engaged."

"I understand. I hate it as well that you still have to wait so long after you've already waited all these years. I had to wait a while myself until Clarisse was ready to wed again after the loss of her first husband and her son. I will admit that I was impatient because I was so in love with her, but she was well worth the wait. And, like grandmother, like granddaughter. Mia, too, is well worth the wait, even though you've already been waiting so long."

"I couldn't agree more. It is true that I can't wait for the Christmas season to get here, assuming that things go according to plan, of course. But I do understand that there's a certain way that you have to go about doing things, especially with royalty. The last thing I would ever want to do is damage Mia's reputation in any way."

"That's something else I really like about you, Andrew. _You think things through._ You're mature enough to think and plan ahead, and you understand the importance of protecting the woman you love in _every_ way, including her reputation. Protecting Mia's reputation was certainly not a concept Nicholas was ever able to grasp," Joseph grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "I still remember how he egged Mia on to climb down that vine and sneak away on that date with him just before your almost-wedding. Not only did he put her physical safety at risk by having her climb down the vine when he knew perfectly well how clumsy she can be; he also selfishly put her overall reputation as the future Queen of Genovia on the line. On the other hand, when you took Mia out for that little romantic rendezvous just before your parents' accident, you informed Clarisse, Shades, and me ahead of time what you were doing. And _you_ were smart enough to have Mia use a ladder rather than making her climb down the vine and risk breaking her neck. You're not selfish, childish, or impulsive like that. Mia's well-being is always at the forefront of your mind."

"Thank you very much for saying that, Joseph. And I do agree that Nicholas Devereaux has never been one of my more favorite people in the world. However, if we're going to be completely honest about our first botched engagement, I have to admit that I am partly to blame for it. We both know Mia made her own mistakes, yes, but the cold hard fact is, there were times throughout it all that Nicholas was there for her in ways that I wasn't. I didn't exactly put forth a lot of effort in cultivating a real relationship with her the way Nicholas did, and that was mostly because I was rebelling against the whole thing. I felt forced into the whole situation by my parents, and I really didn't appreciate that. I think it was the same story with Mia. I think that everything that happened with Nicholas was basically her own way of rebelling against the engagement since Parliament was trying to force her into an arranged marriage."

"Marriage isn't something that should ever be forced on anyone; that's true. And the entire thing was grossly unfair to you both. You didn't deserve to be pushed into a royal engagement by your parents, and Mia didn't deserve for Parliament to try and shove an arranged marriage down her throat. It's perfectly understandable that you each rebelled against it in your own way. And the fact of the matter is, neither one of you were ready for marriage or for each other. Now, I think you're both more than ready."

"I know _I_ certainly am, anyway."

"I believe Mia is, too. I can tell that she is very much in love with you. And speaking as a grandfather, I don't think I could have hoped for a better husband for my granddaughter." Joseph then held out his hand, shook hands with Andrew, and told him, "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you so much," Andrew responded as his face lit up at the older man's approval. Andrew stayed and talked with Joseph several more minutes, and then after spending a little time with Mia and Gracie, he left the palace.

A couple of weeks later, around the first of February, Andrew had similar conversations with Clarisse and Lilly in person, and with the O'Connells over the telephone, and they all had the same reaction that Joseph did. Everyone was overjoyed to know that, in Andrew's own words, he was laying the groundwork necessary to officially become Mia's fiancé and eventually husband. Lilly mercilessly pestered Andrew over the following months to "hurry up and propose," and while Clarisse wasn't as bad about it as Lilly was, she _did_ ask him about it from time to time. Joseph, however, well recalled their conversation in January and was a bit more patient than the ladies were.

But thankfully, a couple of weeks after Mia's thirty-third birthday and Isaac's eleventh, Andrew _finally_ ended their long months - or rather _years_ – of suspense. On one July morning, Mia anticipated a long, dull, dreary day ahead of her filled with mountains of paperwork and a couple of meetings with some of her older political opponents in Parliament. What she _didn't_ anticipate was being kidnapped!

It was a quarter after eight in the morning. Mia had just sent Gracie off to school with Isaac about thirty minutes before and had taken the time to enjoy a second cup of coffee before walking into her office and starting in on what she believed would be a monotonous day of paperwork. The very instant after she sat down at her desk, though, Andrew confidently strode inside wearing a mile-wide, mischievous grin.

"You're looking very smug today, Andrew Jacoby," Mia told him with a laugh.

"Well yes, I suppose I am. It only makes sense, though. It takes a very smug soul to just brazenly walk into the office of the Queen of Genovia and kidnap her."

"Kidnap me? What are you talking about?" asked Mia, and without further ado, Andrew literally picked Mia up out of her seat, threw her over his shoulder, and started walking out with her!

"Andrew, _what_ exactly are you doing?" Mia asked as Andrew walked out of the office, still with her over his shoulder.

"You'll see," Andrew replied.

"Oh come, on Andrew! This is crazy! And besides, I have a lot of work to get done today. I don't have time for silly games right now."

"Oh, I think you'll have plenty of time for this one," he said as he walked through the foyer with her, all the while Joseph, Clarisse, and Shades stood by, just calmly watching the scene play out before them.

"Grandma! Joe! Shades! I need a little help here! I'm being kidnapped!" Mia called out to them.

The threesome looked at each other for the next couple of moments and shrugged, and then Joe yelled, "Bye!"

" _Bye?_ The Queen of Genovia is being kidnapped straight out of the palace by a madman, Joe, and all you have to say is _bye?_ " Mia said as Andrew carried her outside. As soon as Andrew walked outdoors with her, Clarisse, Joseph, and Shades had a good laugh.

Andrew then carried her out to his car and took her away to her family's beach house in Mertz. As soon as they arrived, Andrew assured her, "Don't worry. I've planned today's little adventure out ahead of time. Marjorie and Charlotte are going to take care of things for you while we're away today."

"So, what will we be doing during today's little adventure?"

"I thought we'd enjoy a little horseback riding on the beach, followed by a romantic picnic for lunch. Maybe a little dancing. And then after a candlelight dinner this evening and perhaps a walk along the beach, I thought I'd bring you back to the palace for a little trip down memory lane."

"Memory lane, huh? Sounds interesting."

Andrew looked into Mia's eyes and smiled and said, "I think it will be."

Thanks to Andrew, Mia enjoyed a simply wonderful day of horseback riding, walks along the beach, romantic meals, and dancing. It was beyond refreshing for her to be able to get away from it all and enjoy the day with him like that. It was one of the happiest, most stress-free days she'd had in quite a long time.

But all of that was nothing compared to the big surprise that was waiting for her when Andrew finally brought her back to the palace that evening. When they got back, Andrew took Mia's hand and walked with her to the concrete bench beneath Genovia's most famous pear tree. Much to Mia's delight, she saw that right in front of the bench on the ground was a huge heart made of mauve and white rose petals, with lit candles bordering the heart. Both Clarisse and Mia each had their own special rose in Genovia. Clarisse's was mauve, and Mia's was an off-white color, and there were always bouquets of mauve and off-white roses throughout the palace paying tribute to both queens. Mia knew when she saw the heart of rose petals on the ground that Andrew was also showing love and respect to her and her grandmother, which touched her a great deal.

"Oh, Andrew, it's beautiful," Mia whispered.

"I thought you'd like it," Andrew said softly.

"I love it. It's so thoughtful," Mia said, and then she gave him a nice, long kiss.

"You remember what's so special about this place, don't you?"

"Of course I remember. How could I forget? This is where you proposed to me the last time."

"Indeed. But we weren't ready back then. We weren't ready for marriage or for each other." In that breathtaking instant, Andrew then got down on one knee, took out from his pocket the same square diamond engagement ring that he'd given to her before, and told her, " _I am_ ready now, though. It's no secret that I've been in love with you for so many years. I love you more than anything, Mia Thermopolis." Tears came to Mia's eyes when he said that. "And I'm hoping you'll make me the happiest man on earth and agree to be my wife."

"Of course I will," Mia gasped, and then Andrew slipped the ring on Mia's left ring finger, got up, and gave her the biggest, most passionate kiss of his life. Then as he was embracing her, he pulled her up off her feet and started spinning her around. Both of Mia's feet "popped" up as he spun her, and she almost literally felt like she was flying. Her heart definitely was!

The rest of the world had a similar reaction. The very moment Mia and Andrew came into Mia's office inside the palace and announced their engagement to Clarisse, Joseph, Isaac, and Gracie, they all shouted for joy. Not even Clarisse could contain herself. Naturally, Lilly, Helen, Patrick, and Trevor were equally thrilled when they heard the news. And when the royal couple officially announced their second engagement in September, all of Genovia and millions of people all over the world celebrated the news. While the United States and other countries descended into constant political turmoil, Mia's second engagement to Andrew gave people everywhere something happy to focus on for a change.

But even though Mia, Clarisse, and the rest of the palace were enjoying all the wedding preparations taking place, there were other political matters involved in the upcoming nuptials that were a real headache to deal with. For one thing, even though generations of Renaldis had been Catholics for centuries and Mia had naturally been expected to follow suit upon taking the throne, there were a lot of issues with Catholicism that she strongly disagreed with. At heart, she was much more of a Protestant than a Catholic, as was Andrew, and although Catholicism was no longer the state religion in Genovia as it had been centuries ago, Mia still took a lot of heat from older politicians and nobles for never officially joining the Catholic Church as she'd been expected to. All other Genovian royals before her attended mass every Sunday, but Mia had always preferred to simply attend a Bible study session during the week at the palace with her family and friends and was never big on church services because of all the corruption in the Christian church worldwide. And when it came out in an interview in October that Andrew intended to do the same thing and that he had no plans whatsoever to convert to Catholicism, the couple faced further criticism, particularly in political circles. However, thankfully, the majority of the country supported them, as did Clarisse and Joseph – both of whom basically felt the same way about it all that they did – and while there was a bit of an uproar about it in the press, it didn't last too long.

Unfortunately, soon after all the noise in the media over that particular issue died down, another political fight took place – one that Mia was not able to win. Mia had long since believed that it was horribly sexist that her future husband could only be made a prince and not a king. She had always felt that it was quite unfair that while a Genovian king could share his title with his wife and make her a queen, a Genovian queen could not do the same with her husband. After discussing the issue with Sebastian and Charlotte, Sebastian put it to a vote in Parliament and while it was close, unfortunately, the majority of Parliament ruled against the motion to allow Mia to share her title with Andrew after they got married in December. While Mia had become a very popular ruler amongst the Genovian people and with most of Parliament, many Parliamentarians couldn't see past the fact that Andrew had been born and raised in Great Britain. Although many of them had grown to like and respect Mia, they still had their prejudices against her to a certain degree because she had been born and raised in America and not Genovia, and for them, the thought of having both a Queen _and_ a King of Genovia from other countries was more than they were willing to accept. Sadly, there were also still a fair number of old men serving in Parliament who were sexist to their very cores. Thankfully, the issue of whether or not to make Andrew a prince consort or a prince regent laid squarely in _Mia's_ hands and not Parliament's, so even though Andrew would not be allowed to become the King of Genovia after they got married, the future Prince of Genovia would still be ruling at his wife's side.

The next several weeks flew by, and before the royal couple knew it, their wedding date, the twentieth of December, finally arrived. The entire world was either tuned in on their TVs and computers, or was camped outside the doorsteps of the same church where their "almost-wedding" took place over twelve years ago. Just as Queen Clarisse and Joseph had done years before, Queen Amelia and the soon-to-be Prince Andrew had captured hearts and imaginations all throughout Genovia and the world.

And although over twelve years had passed, very little had changed. This wedding was almost completely identical to the first. Mia was brought to the church by a horse-drawn carriage just like before, even though the winter weather was quite chilly, and the wedding gown and veil she wore was almost exactly the same as last time, which of course had been tailor-made specifically for her with Genovia's famous lace. Once again, Lilly was Mia's matron of honor, and once again, she had to wear pink along with all the other bridesmaids – which she didn't hesitate to fuss about. One person who was much more agreeable about her pink attire for the wedding, however, was eight-year-old Princess Gracie, who was quite happy to wear a pink dress and be the flower girl at her mother's wedding. As all the bridesmaids and groomsmen assembled in the church, getting ready for the wedding to start, Andrew, who also wore a red Genovian military uniform quite similar to the British uniform he'd worn at the last wedding, stood at the front and excitedly waited for his bride. One thing that was different, though, was that this time, it would be the retired, seventy-year-old minister who'd been leading Bible study sessions at the palace the past couple of years, Reverend John Tutor, who would be performing the ceremony.

And there was one other thing that was different from the last time, and it was something that meant a very great deal to Mia and to Joseph. This time, rather than walking down the aisle all by herself, Joseph would be walking with her and giving her away. She did have the option of walking down the aisle on her own again, of course, or of walking down the aisle with her stepfather, but it was no secret that since her father's untimely death, it had always been Joseph who had stepped in and filled that void. They had been good friends with each other since day one, but especially after Joseph joined the family, their relationship had really deepened, and the fact of the matter was, Joseph was the only real father Mia had ever had. Therefore, nothing could have been more appropriate than for him to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.

Moments after Mia arrived, the choir was given the cue to start singing _Canon in D_ , and Gracie, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and Lilly all began marching down the aisle while Mia stood in the back with Joseph, her arm linked through his, holding her bouquet of mauve and off-white roses.

"I can't believe I'm wearing pink again," Lilly quietly grumbled as she made her way down the aisle.

"Are you ready, dear?" Joseph asked in a hushed tone a moment later, and Mia looked at him and smiled.

"I'm very ready," she told him with confidence, and Joseph smiled back at his granddaughter. And indeed, she _was_ ready now. They both were. Mia Thermopolis was _not_ the immature, reckless, easily-intimidated little girl she used to be twelve years ago. Now, she was a grown, mature, strong, confident woman, and it showed. Joseph simply couldn't be prouder of her, and the same could easily be said for Clarisse, Helen, and Patrick.

Joseph in his perfect tuxedo then began the march down the aisle with his granddaughter on his arm, and this time, there was no fear or hesitation on Mia's part. Everyone there stood with their eyes glued to their gorgeous young Queen as she proudly and happily walked down the aisle with a smile. It instantly became clear to anyone in the church that day who might have had their doubts that Mia was _not_ going to turn around and run away this time.

When Mia and Joseph arrived at the altar, Joseph lovingly kissed his granddaughter's cheek and stepped aside, and Andrew took his place beside her.

The retired minister, who was a tall, slim black man with gray hair and glasses and was also wearing a nice black tuxedo, stepped forward and said aloud, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony… _finally_." Naturally, everybody knowingly laughed when he said "finally." "If there is anyone here with any reason why this couple should not be joined, let him speak now or forever hold his peace." After a couple of moments of silence, the reverend continued, asking, "Will the bride and the groom please join hands?" Mia then handed her bouquet to Lilly and took Andrew's hand.

He then looked directly at Andrew and asked, "Andrew William, do you take this woman, Amelia Mignonette, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you solemnly promise to love, honor, and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, 'til death do you part? And forsaking all others, do you solemnly promise to keep yourself only for her as long as you both shall live?"

Andrew then locked his eyes with Mia's, squeezed her hand, and told her honestly, "I do."

"Amelia Mignonette, do you take this man, Andrew William, to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you solemnly promise to love, honor, and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, 'til death do you part? And forsaking all others, do you solemnly promise to keep yourself only for him as long as you both shall live?"

Mia kept her gaze locked with Andrew's, and a couple of tears fell from her eyes as she answered in an emotional whisper, "I do." In that moment, Joseph's and Clarisse's eyes also locked, and the older couple proudly smiled at each other.

"Then by the power vested in me by God, I now _very happily_ pronounce you husband and wife." The entire church then burst into applause. The letters patent had officially been issued by Mia that morning, which made it possible for Reverend Tutor to then say, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to present to you for the very first time, Her Majesty, Amelia Mignonette Jacoby-Renaldi, Queen of Genovia, and His Royal Highness Andrew William Jacoby, Prince of Genovia!" Mia and Andrew then put the rings on each other's fingers, and Andrew gave Mia a long, passionate kiss.

When the Queen and the new Prince of Genovia then turned around and faced the rest of the congregation as a married couple for the very first time, they were greeted by a standing ovation and more thunderous applause. Then young Princess Gracie, who had long since gotten over her former shyness, ran up to her mother and her new father and jumped up into Andrew's arms. Andrew heartily laughed and kissed his newly-adopted daughter on the cheek, and crowd only applauded and cheered that much harder.

A few minutes later, Reverend Tutor hushed the crowd to say something. "Everyone, I just want to say how thrilled I am to have been a part of this. Your Majesty, Your Highness, thank you both so much for allowing me to be the one to marry you today. It was a great privilege. It goes to show that even in a world this crazy in which we actually run the risk of world wars being started by a Tweet on Twitter, miracles _do_ still happen. Miracles happen all around us every day. It just gets so hard to see it because of all the sadness and insanity. There's no doubt about it that it's getting worse, and that it will continue to get worse until the Lord Jesus finally comes back."

"Amen," several people said softly in the background, and Lilly, who had eventually changed her mind and come to faith in Christ, agreed with a nod.

"But no matter how hard it gets, we _will_ get through it as long as we trust in Jesus. And no matter how hard it is, I want to encourage all of you here today to remember to be thankful for all the miracles around us every day. Miracles like a child's smile. Miracles like the love between a man and a woman that we're here celebrating right now. The love between Queen Amelia and Prince Andrew is undoubtedly a miracle, as is the love between Queen Clarisse and Joseph. Young Isaac is definitely a miracle, as is our young Princess Gracie. Sunrises and sunsets and mountains and beaches and children and grandchildren and puppies and kittens and laughter and friends and hugs and tears…they're all miracles. And let us never forget the biggest miracle of all: the fact that the Lord God Almighty loved humanity enough to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to die on the cross to save us from hell. Let us never forget that thanks to God's astounding mercy, we never have to worry about earning our salvation. Let us always remember and be grateful for the fact that Jesus did all the work for us, and let us always be grateful that He is the one and only way to God the Father and that we can _always_ go to the Father through Him. It's a crazy world out there. It's insane. It's messed up. But as Mia and Andrew have reminded us during this Christmas season through their ongoing love, there are still good things in this world. Miracles _do_ still happen."

"Amen," everyone said in agreement. And while it was indeed painfully true that the rest of the world was in sad, sad shape, everybody there still remembered to be grateful for all the miracles in their lives, both the big ones and the small ones. They were all especially grateful to Mia and Andrew that day for reminding all of them that good, wonderful things _did_ still happen in this insane world. As terrible as things remained all over the world, Mia, Andrew, Clarisse, Joseph, Isaac, and Gracie were all living proof that miracles _did_ still happen.

 ** _Cherished_ is lovingly dedicated to the memory of those who recently died in Charlottesville.**


End file.
